Sparks' Dearica Hamby Defends Kelsey Plum After Viral Autograph Video Outside of Hotel

Dearica Hamby has come to the defense of Kelsey Plum after the Los Angeles Sparks star questioned an autograph-seeker outside of the team's hotel recently in a video that went viral on social media.

In the video, Plum is heard asking the fan if he finds it "kind of weird" that he knew where they were going to be as they were leaving for practice.

Hamby provided additional context, writing on X that the Sparks "literally left for practice and changed hotels" when the autograph-seekers showed up right away at the new hotel where the team was staying.

The fan can be heard at the beginning of the video saying he knew where the Sparks were at because their team bus was in front of the hotel.

Plum eventually gave in to sign one item each for the two fans out there, though she did say before doing so that she was "really turned off" by the whole situation.

The fan did end the interaction by telling Plum to "keep going this year," which she said she appreciated.

There's a long history of fans going overboard to seek autographs from athletes and celebrities. Philadelphia Eagles legend Jason Kelce was verbally accosted by someone when he didn't stop to sign autographs after an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live in November 2024.

PGA Tour star Jordan Spieth has spoken out against professional autograph-seekers who are only trying to get a signature for the purpose of selling it to make money for themselves.

It's unclear if the people who were seeking Plum's autograph fall into that category.

Plum is in her first season with the Sparks after being acquired from the Las Vegas Aces in an offseason trade. She's averaging a career-high 20.9 points and 5.6 assists per game in 12 starts.