The WNBA is still struggling with several sex-toy disturbances.
In the past week and a half, sex toys have been thrown on court during games in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and Chicago again on Thursday night.
The sex toy that landed on the court in Los Angeles on Wednesday nearly hit Fever guard Sophie Cunningham during Indiana’s game against the Sparks. Sex toys were also thrown at games in New York and Phoenix last Tuesday but didn’t reach the court. Police say another toy was thrown at a game in Atlanta on Aug. 1, although it’s unclear if that one reached the court.
The distractions have created unexpected challenges for the league, the teams and the players — and also for arena security. Here’s what to know.
Are arrests being made?
A man was arrested Aug. 2 in College Park, Ga., after he was accused of throwing a sex toy onto the court during the Atlanta Dream’s July 29 match against the Golden State Valkyries, according to a police report. The report said he threw another sex toy during the Dream’s Aug. 1 game against the Phoenix Mercury, but that instance did not seem to result in a delay of play.
He is charged with disorderly conduct, criminal trespassing, public indecency and indecent exposure. All four charges are misdemeanours in the state of Georgia, meaning that if he is convicted, the punishment for each can be a fine of up to $1,000 or jail time of up to 12 months. A misdemeanour for public indecency and indecent exposure might also require registration on the state’s sex offender list.
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A sex toy was thrown onto the court during an WNBA game between the Los Angeles Sparks and the Indiana Fever on Tuesday, the third such incident which has impacted the league over the past week.
The report said the man told police “this was supposed to be a joke and the joke [was] supposed to go viral.”
Another man in Phoenix was arrested after police say he threw a sex toy in the crowd at a Mercury game on Tuesday. Police say the 18-year-old pulled the sex toy from his sweater pocket and threw it toward seats in front of him, striking a spectator in the back.
The man later told police it was a prank that had been trending online and that he bought the toy a day earlier to take to the game. He was later tackled by a volunteer at the arena who had witnessed the incident and followed him as he tried to leave.
Police say the man was arrested on suspicion of assault, disorderly conduct and publicly displaying explicit sexual material.
The New York Liberty told The Associated Press on Thursday night that there is an ongoing investigation into the throwing in New York, and the team is co-operating with law enforcement.
What challenges do arena security face to stop this?
The types of sex toys being thrown onto the court generally do not include metal elements, meaning that arena metal detectors are not able to sense them. When carried on a spectator’s body, they become even more difficult for arena staff to detect.
“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 the bags, prohibiting bags,” said Ty Richmond, the president of the event services division at Allied Universal Security, a company that provides security services to certain NBA, WNBA, NFL, MLB and MLS arenas across the country.
He notes there’s a conflict between “expediency, of getting fans into the arena and into the venue, which is an important issue” and “security and safety.”
Sophie Cunningham of the Indiana Fever, right, handles the ball against Alyssa Thomas of the Phoenix Mercury, left, during the second half of the WNBA game at PHX Arena in Phoenix on Thursday night. Cunningham was almost hit by a sex toy thrown during an earlier match. (Getty Images)
The limits of arena security make legal action one of the strongest deterrents for this kind of behaviour, Richmond added.
“The decision to prosecute and show examples of how people are being handled is very important,” he said. “Without a doubt, I think it will make a difference. The application of it is important, and publicizing that is important.”
There have not been any arrests made yet for the incidents in Los Angeles and Chicago. The WNBA has said that any spectators throwing objects onto the court will face a minimum one-year ban and prosecution from law enforcement.
How are the players feeling?
Those on the court have become increasingly frustrated.
“Everyone is trying to make sure the [league] is not a joke and it’s taken seriously, and then that happens,” Cunningham said on her podcast after nearly being hit by one of the sex toys on Tuesday. “I’m like, ‘How are we ever going to get taken seriously?'”
A WNBA game ball sitting at the free throw line at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Thursday. A coach in the league says the throwing of sex toys is just the latest way to try to hold back female athletes. (Luke Hales/Getty Images)
No other professional sports leagues have faced anything like this. It has started a conversation online about the perpetrators’ choices to do this in a women’s league and a league with a high-profile amount of lesbian and queer players.
“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,” said Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve on Thursday. “The sexualization of women is what’s used to hold women down — and this is no different.”
Players have also been sounding off online.
Liberty forward Isabelle Harrison posted on X last week, saying “ARENA SECURITY?! Hello??! Please do better. It’s not funny. Never was funny. Throwing ANYTHING on the court is so dangerous.”