Cryptocurrency meme coin creators say they are responsible for the sex toys being thrown at multiple WNBA games, and they are planning more “pranks.”
From Chicago to Atlanta to Los Angeles, no arena has been safe from neon green objects whizzing from the stands, through the air and onto WNBA courts. If there is an opportune window, a brightly colored entity will be thrown, causing intentional and symbolic chaos, according to a spokesman for the cryptocurrency group. The person, who uses the name @Daldo_Raine on social media, spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the issue.
Over the past two weeks, there have been six known incidents of green sex toys being thrown at WNBA games. The latest to garner attention happened Tuesday night during a game between the Indiana Fever and the Los Angeles Sparks at Crypto.com Arena in L.A. Green sex toys were also thrown in the stands at New York Liberty and Phoenix Mercury games Tuesday, at two Atlanta Dream games last week and a Golden State Valkyries-Sky game last Friday at Wintrust Arena. Two people have been arrested on multiple charges for allegedly throwing the objects.
“It’s super disrespectful,” Sky center Elizabeth Williams said. “I don’t really get the point of it. It’s really immature. Whoever is doing it needs to grow up.”
Said Sparks coach Lynne Roberts: “It’s ridiculous, it’s dumb, it’s stupid. It’s also dangerous. Player safety is No. 1, respecting the game, all those things.”
The spokesman for the group responsible told USA TODAY Sports that was not the intention. He said a group of crypto enthusiasts and traders launched a meme coin intended to be lighthearted and perceived as a joke, in late July to protest what they describe as a “toxic” environment in the crypto world. According to the group, many smaller players in the space are struggling to keep up with the influx of influencers and scammers.
As a form of protest, the meme coin was created, and the faction began infiltrating WNBA arenas with color-coordinated sex toys to coincide with the launch. USA TODAY Sports obtained text messages showing the group’s coordination and planning before the coin’s launch July 28 and the first sex toy being thrown at a WNBA game July 29.
USA TODAY Sports has reached out to the WNBA about the crypto group, the sex toy incidents and security measures moving forward. The league declined to comment on the record.
The crypto group’s spokesman said it’s not their intention to harm anyone, and members of the community have been advised to only throw their branded green items if there is a level of personal comfort and the objects can land without hitting someone. He also shot down any narrative that the sex toys were a sign of disrespect toward the women athletes.
Sex toys have been thrown at sporting events in the past, probably the most well known incident was at a New England Patriots vs. Buffalo Bills game in 2018.
“We didn’t do this because like we dislike women’s sports or, like, some of the narratives that are trending right now are ridiculous,” he said. “Creating disruption at games is like, it happens 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.”
He also said the two people arrested were not part of their group. Delbert Carver was booked for disorderly conduct, public indecency/indecent exposure and criminal trespass after allegedly throwing a sex toy at the Dream’s stadium Saturday. And 18-year-old Kaden Lopez was arrested in Phoenix on suspicion of disorderly conduct, assault and public display of explicit sexual material. According to the local FOX station, Lopez told police he saw the viral trend on social media and purchased his own green sex toy.
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