As the WNBA gains more attention, it’s also dealing with bizarre disruptions. At least five incidents of neon sex toys being thrown at games have been reported, with four reaching the court. One of them made its appearance during the Sky’s 86-65 to the Dream, the second time it’s happened in Chicago this season.
A group of crypto meme coin creators has claimed responsibility for the disruptions, according to USA Today.
On one hand, the incidents reflect the league’s growth, with viewership and attendance on the rise.
“We’ve come to the point where people are using our games to get publicity,” Atkins said before the game. “We weren’t doing that two years ago, five years ago.”
On the other hand, the disruptions are disrespectful. Dream coach Karl Smesko emphasized that athletes deserve a safe working environment, while Sky coach Tyler Marsh pointed out the risk of injury.
When it happened Aug. 1 at Wintrust Arena, center Elizabeth Williams had seen enough.
“I thought it was dumb before, and I still think it’s dumb,” Williams said Thursday, unimpressed by the fact that the disruptions were tied to the launch of a meme coin.
Many around the WNBA, including Williams, view the actions as demeaning, though the group behind the incidents insists they don’t have anything against women.
“It says something to me that it happened at a women’s sporting event,” Williams said. “To me, that’s intentional, even if they don’t think it is.”
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve weighed in, calling it the latest version of the sexualization of women.
“The sexualization of women is what’s used to hold women down,” Reeve said. “This is the latest version of that. It’s not funny. It should not be the butt of jokes in radio shows or in print.”
At first, though, players couldn’t help but see the humor. When the first sex toy was thrown July 29 in Atlanta, Fever guard Sydney Colson, widely considered the league’s funniest player, tweeted, “Sorry I did NOT mean to throw that so far y’all.”
When it happened again in several more arenas, including Chicago, Angel Reese joined in, tweeting, “Hey @SydJColson, why do you keep throwing your mean green in different arenas…it’s getting weird.”
It kept getting weirder when the crypto group got involved. They say their coin represents a protest against the toxic culture of crypto and want to “take back” crypto culture by… throwing neon sex toys at WNBA games?
It’s unclear why they’ve chosen the WNBA, other than to get attention for their coin.
“It sounds like we’re on the Reddit forums of crypto guys,” Atkins said before the game.
She captured the situation, balancing seriousness and absurdity: “I think it’s immature. But, whatever, as long as they don’t hit anybody. If you hit somebody, you should go to jail.”
Sky CEO told Front Office Sports that the police are investigating the previous incident. The latest incident occurred in the final seconds of Thursday’s game. The league released a statement over the weekend, saying it will ban anyone who does it again.
Before the game, head coach Tyler Marsh expressed frustration with how negativity surrounding the league tends to go viral.
“There’s so much good about the WNBA, and I think that’s where the light and the focus should be,” Marsh said. “The negative attention is what gets the most publicity.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
