NEED TO KNOW
- A man is wanted for assault for throwing a sex toy at a New York Liberty game on Aug. 5, hitting a 12-year-old girl
- Several similar incidents involving green sex toys have occurred at WNBA games since July 29
- Cryptocurrency meme coin creators have claimed responsibility for the incidents, which WNBA coaches have scrutinized
Police are looking for a man who threw a sex toy during a recent New York Liberty game, one of several similar incidents across the WNBA.
The man is wanted for assault for throwing an “object which struck a 12-year-old female victim in the right leg” as the Liberty played at Barclays Center on Tuesday, Aug. 5, according to an X post from the New York Police Department (NYPD) Crime Stoppers.
The “object” was a sex toy, per a report from ABC 7 NY, as well as footage seen from the aftermath of the incident.
The unidentified man threw the object at approximately 8:45 p.m. local time, according to the NYPD Crime Stoppers post, which included security footage of the “unidentified individual” walking through the Brooklyn arena.
He was pictured wearing black shorts, black sneakers and a black T-shirt featuring what appeared to be a Beavis and Butt-Head graphic. He also wore a red baseball cap and appeared to have tattoos on both arms.
NYPD Crime Stoppers/Facebook
After the man threw the sex toy, which was bright green in color, it struck the young girl before landing in the stands of the Barclays Center, just a few rows behind a basketball hoop, per footage obtained by New York Post Sports.
After she was hit by the object, the girl said that she experienced leg pain, but she was not hospitalized, ABC 7 NY reported.
The Aug. 5 incident occurred as the 2024 WNBA Championship winners defeated the Dallas Wings, and it came amid a string of similar incidents plaguing the league — which a group of cryptocurrency meme coin creators have taken credit for.
The same day, Kaden Lopez was taken into custody at the matchup between the Phoenix Mercury and Connecticut Suns after police said the 18-year-old threw a green sex toy toward the court, per Fox 10 Phoenix.
Footage of the incident shows the toy hitting a man and his 9-year-old niece, according to the outlet.
The Suns-Mercury incident, however, marked the fifth known time that a sex toy was thrown at a WNBA game this summer.
The first instance occurred during the Golden State Valkyries-Atlanta Dream matchup on July 29 in Atlanta. A 23-year-old man was arrested for the incident and charged with disorderly conduct, public indecency/indecent exposure and criminal trespass, according to The Athletic.
PEOPLE has previously reached out to the WNBA to confirm whether these incidents remain under investigation.
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The creators of meme coin Green Dildo Coin (DILDO) have claimed responsibility for the incidents, according to a report from USA Today Sports.
While several WNBA coaches have slammed the so-called “pranks” for being dangerous and sexualizing women, an anonymous spokesperson for the crypto group told USA Today Sports that it is not their intention to harm anyone.
“We didn’t do this because we dislike women’s sports or, like, some of the narratives that are trending right now are ridiculous,” the spokesperson said, adding that disruptions happen “in every single sport, right?”
“We’ve seen it in the NFL, we’ve seen it in hockey, you know … fans doing random things to more or less create attention,” the DILDO spokesperson continued. “We knew that in order to get a voice in the space … we had to go out and do some viral stunts to save us from having to pay that influencer cabal, sacrifice our souls and the fate of the project.”
Speaking out about the incidents, Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve told Minnesota ABC affiliate KSTP, “The sexualization of women is what’s used to hold women down, and this is no different. These people who are doing this should be held accountable. We’re not the butt of the joke, they’re the problem.”
After the Los Angeles Sparks’ game was also interrupted by a sex toy on Aug. 5, head coach Lynne Roberts also shared some choice words, stating, “It’s ridiculous, it’s dumb, it’s stupid,” per USA Today Sports.
“It’s also dangerous,” she added. “Player safety is No. 1, respecting the game, all those things. I think it’s really stupid.”
