Some of these WNBA games this season have garnered notoriety for having rubber sex toys thrown on the floor by fans. These actions have raised troubling issues regarding arena security and the wider implications of such behaviors. On July 29, a man in College Park, Georgia, went viral for tossing a sex toy during the Atlanta Dream’s game against the Golden State Valkyries. His arrest and the consequences of his actions ignited a national dialogue. He argued that the act was just a prank born of participation in a popular TikTok social media challenge.
The man purchased the sex toy only a day prior to the game. He wanted to take it with him for what he thought was going to be a harmless, comedic gag. Whatever his intent, this warranted an arrest. In Georgia, tossing these objects would be a misdemeanor as it is already illegal to throw these objects without consent, punishable with up to $1,000 in fines or 12 months jail time.
On August 1, during a game in Atlanta, a second sex-toy-gate moment occurred. As of now, it’s unknown if the object actually ended up on the court. As recounted in August 5 game in LA, the shorting incident contained a sex toy being tossed onto the court. It just barely clipped the back of Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham. On the same day, incel jacketing supporters were disrupting games in New York and Phoenix as well. The artifacts in question never stepped foot on the court.
The increasing regularity of these interferences has caused great concern to players and officials. In total, sex toys have been thrown onto courts during games in Atlanta, Chicago, and Los Angeles throughout early August. The latest example came just last Friday night in the closing seconds of the Atlanta Dream’s nationally televised comeback win over the Chicago Sky.
On August 1, police arrested an 18-year-old in Phoenix for sex trafficking. The young man’s antics had included tossing a sex toy into the crowd at a Phoenix Mercury game. He allegedly removed the item from his sweater pocket and pointed it at seats in the close vicinity, shooting a fan. No charges have so far been filed in connection with deaths in either Los Angeles or Chicago.
As arena security teams deal with these testy realities, they struggle to properly screen for such assets. Ty Richmond, a security expert, noted that “not all stadiums are using a screening process that’s consistent and can detect (the sex toys) because of what it would require — pat-down searches, opening bags, prohibiting bags.”
Our players have shared their anger and fear after experiencing or witnessing these attacks and feeling like security and protective measures weren’t effective. Liberty forward Isabelle Harrison took to social media to voice her concerns:
“ARENA SECURITY?! Hello??! Please do better. It’s not funny. Never was funny. Throwing ANYTHING on the court is so dangerous.” – Isabelle Harrison
Sophie Cunningham, too, expressed concern about all of this, asking what’s going on behind the scenes that hurts the league’s credibility.
“Everyone is trying to make sure the W is not a joke and it’s taken seriously, and then that happens.” – Sophie Cunningham
Head coach of the WNBA Minnesota Lynx, Cheryl Reeve, brought attention to the larger effect of these disruptions. She grounded them in the larger issue of the sexualization of women in sports.
“This has been going on for centuries, the sexualization of women. This is the latest version of that. It’s not funny. It should not be the butt of jokes.” – Cheryl Reeve
The consequences of such occurrences go beyond each individual incident. They undermine the integrity of women’s sports themselves. Reeve added,
“The sexualisation of women is what’s used to hold women down, and this is no different.” – Cheryl Reeve
Richmond further commented on the importance of prosecuting offenders to deter future incidents:
“The decision to prosecute and show examples of how people are being handled is very important.” – Ty Richmond
