The Golden State Valkyries, in their debut season in the WNBA, have had plenty of positives to take away already. Head coach Natalie Nakase is firmly in conversation for the WNBA Coach of the Year with the Valkyries currently boasting of a 14-14 record.
However, there has been plenty of bizarre incidents occuring as well. The most prominent among them occurred when a fan seemingly threw a sex toy on court during the fourth quarter of the game against the Atlanta Dream, leading to the arrest of one Delbert Carver.
Carver was taken into custody and booked at the Clayton County Jail at 7:42 PM on Saturday before being released on bond late Sunday, per ESPN. The 23-year-old had allegedly thrown a green sex toy on the court on which the broadcast camera zoomed in before quickly switching away.
Delbert has been charged with disorderly conduct and allegedly told the police that “this was supposed to be a joke and this joke [was] supposed to go viral.” The Valkyries have not yet commented on the situation.
“The safety and well-being of everyone in our arenas is a top priority for our league. Objects of any kind thrown onto the court or in the seating area can pose a safety risk for players, game officials, and fans,” the WNBA wrote in a statement.
It further read that any fan who intentionally throws an object onto the court will face immediate ejection, a minimum one-year ban, and will be subject to “arrest and prosecution by local authorities.”
A similar incident had occured during the Valkyries’ game against the Chicago Sky. However, Chicago Police claimed that there was no “call of service” for that particular incident. The Valkyries will now face the Las Vegas Aces at the Chase Center on August 6.
