An individual was briefly detained at Wintrust Arena after Thursday’s WNBA game between the Chicago Sky and Atlanta Dream in response to another incident of a sex toy being thrown on the court.
Two objects were thrown toward the court during the fourth quarter of the Sky’s 86-65 loss. One green sex toy landed behind the Dream bench. Another pink object landed on the court during live action, forcing the game to be paused with 5.9 seconds left. Both incidents occurred while players were in action on the court.
Security members detained one suspect shortly after the game ended, per a league source, but the individual was released after questioning. No arrests have been made in any of the incidents of sex toys being thrown on or toward the court at Wintrust Arena over the past week.
Monterrey Security is contracted to provide security for all games at Wintrust Arena. The company coordinates with the Sky’s personal security team and the Chicago Police Department during Sky games.
A similar incident occurred during the Aug. 1 Sky game against the Golden State Valkyries. A green sex toy was thrown onto the Wintrust Arena court with 7:42 remaining in the third quarter and landed near players during a transition play. A suspect was identified but had fled the premises before they could be detained, per a league source. Chicago police have not taken further action.
At least six WNBA games have been interrupted by a sex toy being thrown on or toward the court over the last 10 days. A group of crypto traders is claiming at least partial responsibility for the trend, which they say is meant to spur interest in a meme coin.
In an anonymous interview with USA Today, the creators of the meme coin said there is nothing sexist about the pattern of sex toys being thrown at WNBA games. However, similar incidents have not been repeated at any Major League Baseball games over the last 10 days, nor Thursday’s NFL preseason games in Philadelphia and Seattle.
Two men have been arrested in relation to these incidents. Delbert Carver, 23, was arrested for throwing a sex toy during a July 29 game in Atlanta, and Kaden Lopez, 18, was arrested for throwing one during a game Tuesday in Phoenix.
Carver faces charges of disorderly conduct, public indecency, indecent exposure and criminal trespass. Lopez — who struck a fan while throwing the sex toy — will face charges of disorderly conduct, assault and public display of explicit sexual material.
The WNBA also is threatening a minimum one-year ban for any fan who throws an object on the court in future games.
Players and coaches across the league have taken a strong stance against this trend. Sky center Elizabeth Williams described the first incident in Chicago as “super disrespectful” and “immature.” Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve decried the pattern for upholding the “sexualization of women.”
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Sky guard Ariel Atkins put a slightly more positive spin on the topic before Thursday’s game, noting that the crypto connection hints at the WNBA’s rise in popularity.
“We’ve come to the point where people are using our games to get publicity,” Atkins said with a laugh. “We weren’t doing that a year ago. We weren’t doing that five years ago. So as terrible as it is, that’s kind of my thought process behind it.”
But Atkins was quick to add that she finds the trend immature — and that “if it hits somebody, then somebody’s going to jail.”