WNBA players have spoken out after a second game this week was delayed due to a sex toy being thrown onto the court.
In the third quarter of the Golden State Valkyries’ 73-66 win over the Chicago Sky on Friday night, the bright green toy was thrown from the stands at Wintrust Arena in Chicago and landed just out of bounds underneath one of the baskets.
With the Sky on the attack, the game was halted and an official kicked the object to the side, where it was picked up with a towel and removed.
“It’s super disrespectful,” Sky center Elizabeth Williams told reporters afterward. “I don’t really get the point of it. It’s really immature. Whoever’s doing it just needs to grow up.”
The incident came just three days after another sex toy was thrown onto the court during the Valkyries’ 77-75 victory over the Atlanta Dream at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia.
Following Friday’s reoccurrence, a number of players from around the WNBA took to social media to comment on the incidents.
“ARENA SECURITY?! Hello??!” wrote New York Liberty forward Isabelle Harrison wrote on X. “Please do better. It’s not funny. never was funny. Throwing ANYTHING on the court is so dangerous.”
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham echoed Harrison’s anger, writing: “Stop throwing dildos on the court… you’re going to hurt one of us.”
The WNBA says any fan caught engaging in such behavior will face prosecution as well as a ban from the league.
“The safety and well-being of everyone in our arenas is a top priority for our league,” a WNBA spokesperson told CNN.
“Objects of any kind thrown onto the court or in the seating area can pose a safety risk for players, game officials, and fans.
“In line with WNBA Arena Security Standards, any fan who intentionally throws an object onto the court will be immediately ejected and face a minimum one-year ban in addition to being subject to arrest and prosecution by local authorities.”
The individual involved in the incident in Atlanta was identified and arrested, according to the WNBA.
