The expansion Golden State Valkyries are putting together an against-all-odds season that could make them the first team in the league\u2019s history<\/a> to make the playoffs in their first season.<\/p>\n But even as the WNBA grows its mainstream popularity, toxic pranks threaten to overshadow all of this excellent basketball. Instead of the thrilling on-court storylines and budding rivalries, too many WNBA headlines this summer have been about R-rated high jinks. On multiple occasions in recent weeks, someone in the crowd at a game has tossed a bright-colored sex toy toward the court, disrupting play or hitting fans.<\/p>\n Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham dribbles up court against the Dallas Wings during the first half of a WNBA basketball game in Dallas on Aug. 1. (Julio Cortez \/ AP file)<\/p>\n Indiana Fever player Sophie Cunningham put out a public plea<\/a> on Aug. 1 for the behavior to stop. Just a few days later, she was nearly hit<\/a> by a sex toy during an away game against the Los Angeles Sparks.<\/p>\n Suspects, both young men, were arrested following additional incidents in Phoenix<\/a> and Atlanta<\/a>. In New York<\/a>, the NYPD is looking for a man who threw a sex toy that did not make it to the court but struck a 12-year-old girl. Police shared a photo<\/a> of a potential suspect, who appeared to be wearing not New York Liberty gear, but a \u201cBeavis and Butt-Head\u201d T-shirt.<\/p>\n So what\u2019s going on here? So far, it\u2019s looking like a combination of idiocy, clout-chasing and cash.<\/p>\n ESPN reported<\/a> that the 23-year-old suspect arrested in the incident in Atlanta said it was \u201csupposed to be a joke and this joke [was] supposed to go viral.\u201d<\/p>\n But it could be even more coordinated than that. Last week, USA Today reported<\/a> that the creators of a cryptocurrency meme coin say they were responsible for at least some of the \u201cpranks,\u201d which were designed to create buzz around the launch of their neon-green-dildo-themed crypto coin.<\/p>\n The creators\u2019 spokesperson denied any intent to harm and said, \u201cWe didn\u2019t do this because like we dislike women\u2019s sports.\u201d<\/p>\n But it\u2019s hard not to see it any other way. While the creators pointed to incidents like a pair of Buffalo Bills games in 2016 and 2018,<\/a> where someone also tossed a sex toy onto the field, the crypto promoters miss a few crucial issues.<\/p>\n Most importantly, there\u2019s a different implication when sex toys are being thrown at women. Not to mention the fact that WNBA games are, by design<\/a>, supposed to be safe spaces for women, nonbinary people and families.<\/p>\n But that hasn\u2019t stopped some on the right, unsurprisingly, from treating the whole thing like one big overreaction.<\/p>\n Donald Trump Jr. posted an obviously fake but nonetheless surreal image of his father, President Donald Trump, throwing a green dildo from the roof of the White House<\/a> onto a basketball court of mostly Black WNBA players on the ground below.<\/p>\n Fox News regular Clay Travis, founder of the right-wing sports blog OutKick, has mocked the WNBA<\/a> for being upset and posted odds from sites taking bets<\/a> on what will happen next.<\/p>\n Both Trump Jr. and Travis have claimed they are out to \u201csave women\u2019s sports\u201d in their zealous attempts to persecute transgender people, and yet they to seem to have no interest in protecting or supporting women athletes who are literally asking for help.<\/p>\n And elite female athletes are far from immune from sexual harassment and abuse.<\/p>\n In 2022, former acting Attorney General Sally Yates published a report for U.S. Soccer<\/a> detailing allegations of abuse by three coaches in the National Women\u2019s Soccer League, as well as a widespread culture of harassment. And the millions paid to Larry Nassar\u2019s victims came after high-profile gymnasts including Simone Biles and Aly Raisman<\/a> said the FBI did not properly follow up on their claims of Nassar\u2019s misconduct.<\/p>\n Hopefully, this incredibly stupid trend has finally played itself out. With a few weeks left before the playoffs, WNBA players deserve so much better than to be exploited for some childish misogyny. And so do their fans.<\/p>\n This article was originally published on MSNBC.com<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Fever](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/c5a61f70a7cb4e61a91ac8619b401d52.jpeg\"\/)
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