Someone has finally fessed up to starting the disturbing, sexist trend that has been disrupting WNBA games.
After more than five incidents of lime green sex toys being launched onto courts mid-game, on Wednesday, Aug. 6, an anonymous source in the cryptocurrency world confirmed to ESPN that he’s a part of a group that orchestrated the viral crude stunt.
The group claims the stunts were part of a quasi-marketing strategy to promote a new coin created by the group, which began trading a day before the first incident. They supposedly picked the WNBA as a target because of its growing buzz and “controversy.”
“It was more or less like an opportunistic approach to, you know, what is already trending,” the source, who goes by Lt. Daldo Raine on X, told ESPN. “Where is there already controversy and how do we intercept some of that attention?”
However, he insisted that at least one of the more recent incidents was not affiliated with their group and instead was just “copycat” behavior.
The trend began on Tuesday, July 29, when a lime green toy was thrown onto the court during a game between the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries. Since then, it has happened at least six times in cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix, Atlanta, and New York, often stopping the game and causing visible frustration from the players.
In response, the WNBA has enacted a zero-tolerance policy, promising that anyone caught throwing objects will be ejected from the game, subjected to a minimum one-year ban, and turned over to the authorities. Coaches, players, celebrities, and fans alike have condemned the “distracting” trend for being a crude prank at best and for perpetuating sexual violence against women at worst.
“This has been going on for centuries. The sexualization of women. This is the latest version of that. And it’s not funny and it should not be the butt of jokes on radio shows, or in print or any comments,” Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said per CNN.
She added, “The sexualization of women is what’s used to hold women down, and this is no different. This is its latest form, and we should write about it in that way. These people [who] are doing this should be held accountable, and we’re not the butt of the joke. They’re the problem.”
Meanwhile, Indiana Fever Dream player Sophie Cunningham, who was nearly hit earlier in the week by one of the objects, stressed how this trend could reverse the efforts many have put forth to gain the league more respect.
“Everyone is trying to make sure the W is not a joke and it’s taken seriously, and then that happens,” Cunningham said on her podcast. “I’m like, ‘How are we ever going to get taken seriously?’”
AP News reported that at least two arrests have been made in connection with the incidents. One of them is a member of the group that claims to have started the trend. The group told ESPN that while they intend to back off from the WNBA for now, they aren’t exactly going away. They apparently have less disruptive plans for the future.
