When the lewd, bright green toy hit a man and his 9-year-old niece Tuesday night, it marked at least the fifth time a person in the stands of an WNBA game attempted to throw a sex toy during one of the league’s games.
What the heck is going on?
“I’m just – you know – wondering about the mentality of the men who do this, because women aren’t doing this… this is the work of men,” said WWL’s Scoot this week. “And guys, I’m not trying to criticize you, but I mean, if you want women to respect you, don’t act like an a-hole.”
According to FOX 10 Phoenix, 18-year-old Kaden Lopez – who was arrested for the Tuesday incident at the Phoenix Mercury game against the Connecticut Sun – said he was motivated to buy and throw the toy because of a “stupid prank that was trending on social media.” That same night, toys were also thrown during the Dallas Wings-New York Liberty game and Indiana Fever-Los Angeles Sparks game at Crypto.com arena in Los Angeles, Calif.
USA Today reported that toy hit Fever forward Sophie Cunningham, who had just posted about the rash of toy throwing at games on X. She said “stop throwing dildos on the court… you’re going to hurt one of us.”
In a follow-up post after the incident at Crypto Cunningham added: “this did NOT age well.”
Other incidents mentioned by USA Today include the first reported incident during the Golden State Valkyries-Atlanta Dream game on July 29 in Atlanta, Ga. and the Aug. 1 Golden State Valkyries-Chicago Sky game, when a toy landed on the court at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Ill. These incidents have resulted in arrests, including the arrest of 23-year-old Delbert Carver in Georgia and Lopez in Arizona.
Per FOX 10’s report, video footage shows Lopez retrieving the dildo from his sweater pocket and throwing it forward before standing and leaving. A witness said they followed Lopez, tackled him and waited for police to arrive.
“The adult male victim was interviewed. He stated he was watching the WNBA game with his 9-year-old niece, when something hit his back then fell to the ground next to them. He realized the object that hit him was a dildo. He desires prosecution,” said court documents cited by the outlet. Additionally, the WNBA and PHX Arena both want Lopez to be prosecuted for disorderly conduct.
After the incidents in Atlanta and Chicago, the Associated Press also reported that the WNBA said it would ban anyone throwing objects at the court from attending games.
“The safety and well-being of everyone in our arenas is a top priority for our league. Objects of any kind thrown onto the court or in the seating area can pose a safety risk for players, game officials, and fans,” the league said in a statement published by the AP. “In line with WNBA Arena Security Standards, any fan who intentionally throws an object onto the court will be immediately ejected and face a minimum one-year ban in addition to being subject to arrest and prosecution by local authorities.”
Matthew Mangino, a former district attorney in Lawrence County, Pa., told Newsweek that the behavior is sexist and misogynistic.
“This conduct is dangerous to athletes and fans, not to mention sexist and misogynistic,” he told the outlet. “I’ve been an avid sports fan for decades, I’ve never seen sex toys thrown at male athletes.”
A report from the University of Kent in the U.K. published last year found that social media platforms can “actively amplify and direct harmful content to young people,” including misogyny and other harmful rhetoric. Report authors found that “after only five days of TikTok usage, our research shows a fourfold increase in the level of misogynistic content being presented on the ‘For You’ page of an individual’s TikTok account.”
“We found that the algorithm privileges more extreme material, and through increased usage, users are gradually exposed to more misogynistic ideologies which are presented and gamified through soft or humorous cultural forms,” they added.
USA Today reported Thursday that a cryptocurrency meme coin creators claimed they were behind the incidents. However, they said that the two men arrested are not part of their group.
“The person, who uses the name @Daldo_Raine on social media, spoke to USA Today Sports on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the issue,” said the outlet. They said it wasn’t the group’s intention to harm anyone and claimed that throwing sex toys was not meant to be disrespectful to women.
“We knew that in order to get a voice in the space… we had to go out and do some viral stunts to save us from having to pay that influencer cabal, sacrifice our souls and the fate of the project, more or less,” said the spokesperson. They also said more of what they consider “pranks” are planned going forward, but that they will be more “tasteful” ones.
Mangino isn’t the only one who has pointed to misogyny as a factor in the potentially dangerous trend impacting the WNBA.
“Let’s think this through: There are people paying good money to attend a professional basketball game just to throw a dildo at the players’ feet,” said Olivia Truffaut-Wong, writing or Cosmopolitan. “Why? To send a message, to tell women that they don’t belong on the court and that their athleticism isn’t as valuable as their sexuality. This is misogyny, plain and simple.”
She called on NBA players to stand in solidarity with the WNBA to denounce the behavior. Others have pointed out how harmful the trend could be for players’ health and careers.
“As hard as it is to take a lime green rubber phallus seriously, the safety implications are no joke. Any object tossed onto the court can pose a real danger to players in motion – risking sprains, broken ankles, or worse,” said Rosalina Lee, writing for Sports Illustrated. “One careless toss could sideline a player, derail a team’s momentum in the standings, or even alter the trajectory of an athlete’s season – or career – if the injury is severe enough.”
A response to Isabelle Harrison, a player for the New York Liberty, on X seems to show how people are not taking the risks of the trend seriously.
“ARENA SECURITY?! Hello??! Please do better. It’s not funny. never was funny. Throwing ANYTHING on the court is so dangerous,” she said.
“It’s actually pretty hilarious. Imagine if it would have smacked @Reese10Angel in the back of da head,” said a commenter, referring to Chicago Sky player Angel Reese. “If you throw a dilly on the court, you a legend in my eyes.”
Harrison’s response pretty much sums things up: “grow up.”