A group of crypto investors is claiming responsibility for a series of incidents where green sex toys were tossed onto WNBA courts, adding a strange wrinkle to an already-charged furor that casts a shadow over the league.<\/p>\n
WNBA games in Atlanta, Brooklyn, Chicago, Los Angeles and Phoenix have seen bright-green phallic-shaped objects hurled toward the hardwood during play. The incidents have spurred at least two arrests and an uproar from WNBA participants and fans.<\/p>\n
In fact, the incidents were designed to promote a so-called \u201cmeme coin,\u201d<\/a> claim the digital token\u2019s creators. These cryptocurrencies see their value increase as more buyers pile into the assets.<\/p>\n The creators of the \u201cgreen dildo coin\u201d token, which has its own website, have yet to publicly reveal their identities. But in an interview with NBC News, one of the backers, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, denied the scheme had anything to do with racism or misogyny, and was instead designed to promote the meme coin community, which he said is increasingly captured by \u201cinfluencer cabals\u201d and other bad actors.<\/p>\n \u201cOur group is put together to make people laugh, make meme coins fun and funny again, and try to revive a culture of crypto that\u2019s been lost,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He said the original plan was to have four individuals launch green sex toys \u2014 which he said were designed to represent the spirit of bullish trading \u2014 onto WNBA courts in a single night last Tuesday. One individual ultimately decided against going through with it, while another\u2019s throw didn\u2019t make it onto the court. A third individual got arrested.<\/p>\n The Athletic, the sports outlet owned by The New York Times, and USA Today both reported Thursday on the crypto connection.<\/p>\n The token spokesman reached by NBC News said months of planning had gone the July 28 launch of the campaign, which also includes a website, merchandise, NFTs and a Telegram social media channel that has now racked up over 1,000 members.<\/p>\n Amid the backlash, he deemed the effort a success.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are talking about it. They\u2019re seeing it in places relevant to everyday society,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s why pranks are important to spreading the message \u2014 it\u2019s about providing a cool, new, safe place for memes.\u201d<\/p>\n USA Today was the first<\/a> outlet to speak with a representative from the meme coin group.<\/p>\n The pranks also appear to be paying off financially: By Friday evening, the market cap, or combined value, of all the coins stood at approximately $15 million, according to one market tracker<\/a>. The value held by each of the top 10 coin owners is now more than $100,000.<\/p>\n The spokesman compared the effort to trying to revive the spirit that helped push meme stocks like GameStop to new heights several years ago, and which simultaneously challenged more established Wall Street players. He said a green dildo had also been placed on the Wall Street Bull statue in New York, and at a Miami Marlins baseball game.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have the ability to participate financially in a trend or movement,\u201d the man said. He added that in contrast to many digital tokens whose virality \u2014 and value \u2014 may be tied to a single TikTok creator, \u201ca meme coin gets created through a trend, pranks, content, and then every average person gets to monetize that trend. That\u2019s more or less the beauty of it.\u201d<\/p>\n The WNBA game incidents have drawn outrage from players and fans of a league already subject to continuous racist and misogynist invective online.<\/p>\n \u201cThe safety and well-being of everyone in our arenas is a top priority for our league,\u201d a WNBA representative said Thursday. \u201cObjects of any kind thrown onto the court or in the seating area can pose a safety risk for players, game officials and fans.\u201d<\/p>\n Anyone who intentionally throws an object onto the court will be immediately ejected and face a minimum one-year ban from attending games, the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n Despite that outrage, the ongoing pranks seem to be endorsed by Donald Trump Jr.<\/a> \u2014 himself heavily involved in crypto projects \u2014 who posted a meme to social media Thursday edited to show the president throwing a green sex toy onto a WNBA court from the roof of the White House.<\/p>\n Representatives for the president\u2019s son and the White House did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n At least six incidents involving the vulgar pranks have been reported over the past week, including during a Phoenix Mercury game, where an 18-year-old <\/a>threw a green sex toy that landed short of the floor. Instead, it hit a man watching the game with his 9-year-old niece, Fox 10 Phoenix reported<\/a>. The man, along with the WNBA and operators of the Mercury\u2019s PHX Arena, are seeking to prosecute the perpetrator.<\/p>\n A suspect in that incident, Kaden Lopez, allegedly tried to flee after throwing the sex toy but was tackled and held for police, according to court documents. Lopez said he was \u201cvery sorry\u201d for the stunt and called his actions a \u201cstupid prank that was trending on social media.\u201d<\/p>\n The meme coin spokesman told NBC News that Lopez was connected to the core meme coin launch group; Lopez could not be reached for comment. A suspect involved in a throwing incident during an Atlanta Dream game, Delbert Carver, admitted to it when interviewed by police, court documents said. He faces multiple charges.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThis was supposed to be a joke and this joke was supposed to go viral,\u201d he told College Park police according to an affidavit.<\/p>\n Carver, 23, could not be immediately reached for comment on Friday.<\/p>\n The meme coin spokesman said the group had no prior knowledge of Carver.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are community tokens \u2014 we\u2019re not a business,\u201d he said. \u201cAnyone can contribute.\u201d<\/p>\n