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WNBA games over the past couple weeks have become victims of a bizarre trend in which fans in multiple arenas across the league have interrupted games by throwing green sex toys on the court. Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham joked about the incidents, but also kept her eye on the larger picture.
“If someone threw that thing and like, first of all the bounce, the bounce that that thing had, if that smacked someone in the face you know that that's going to be plastered everywhere,” she said on her Show Me Something podcast on Tuesday.
The first dildo toss occurred in the final minute of the Atlanta Dream's game against the Golden State Valkyries on July 29. With the game tied, officials temporarily halted play as the toy was removed. It happened again on August 1 in Chicago as the Sky were also playing the Valkyries. The league announced on Saturday that the first thrower had been arrested and is subject to “prosecution by local authorities.”
“I just know how things go viral now and I just know if that thing like even came from like the rafters or bows and just slap me right in the face, I could never,” Cunningham continued. “That would be what I'd be known for life. So, I was just trying to protect all of our images and yeah, break a f—ing nose. What the hell.”
But the Fever guard knows it's not just about getting jokes off — tempted as we all might be. The WNBA has enjoyed meteoric growth over the past half-decade and fans throwing dildos on the court doesn't exactly help the league's public perception.
“Everyone’s trying to make sure the W is not a joke and it’s taken seriously and then that happens,” Cunningham said. “I’m like, ‘how are we ever going to get taken seriously?'”
