The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) faces a continuous problem and it is not a professional risk of usual sport.
Rather than dealing with injured players, planning problems and rowdy fans, the WNBA had to counter people throwing sex toys on short, disturbing games and putting players at risk of injury.
During the last week, there have been three separate incidents in which Sex toys were thrown to separate WNBA games And players are expressed against the trend.
The WNBA has promised to ban anyone throwing toys in court for at least a year and warned that they would also be subject to arrest and prosecution by local authorities.
Nowsweek Contacted the WNBA by the website form to comment on this story.
AP photo / Jessica Hill, file
Why it matters
Incidents raise serious concerns about the safety and safety of players as well as the extent to which Women’s basketball is taken seriously.
What to know
The wave of sex toy incidents started on July 29 neon green toy was launched at the fourth quarter of a match between the Golden State Valkyries and the dream of Atlanta at the Gateway Center Arena in College Park, in Georgia. The WNBA said that the responsible fan had been arrested, ejected from the arena and would face a minimum prohibition of one year.
The man who would have thrown the launch of Delbert Carver, 23, who was released from County County prison in Jonesboro on Sunday, according to several media reports, who declared that he was accused of disorderly conduct, public indecency / indecent exposure and criminal intrusion.
According to The Daily Mail, Citing an incident report provided by the College Park police service, Carver said: “It was supposed to be a joke and this joke was supposed to become viral.”
Three days later, a second incident took place during the Valkyries match against the Chicago sky in Wantrust Arena in Chicago. A similar toy was thrown after the reference base during the third quarter of the match, which prompted the officials to suspend the game and a member of the staff to remove it with a towel. Chicago police told ESPN that they had not been called to the scene and that no arrest had been made.
Then, on August 5, a sex toy was thrown from the stands while the Fiven of Indiana played the sparks of Los Angeles in Los Angeles. He landed near the Sophie Cunningham fever guard, who – the days before – had posted on X, formerly Twitter: “Stop throwing dildos on the field … You will hurt one of us.”
In a follow -up articleAfter the incident, she wrote: “It didn’t age well.”
Talk to NowsweekLegal experts weighed on the issue.
Matthew Mangino, a former District Prosecutor of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, described incidents as dangerous and called on local authorities to pursue the officials.
“This conduct is dangerous for athletes and fans, not to mention sexist and misogynist,” he said. “I have been a fan of passionate sport for decades, I have never seen any sex toys launched on male athletes.”
He continued: “Local authorities must continue vigorously, fans must be vigilant to underline offenders and the WNBA must prohibit offenders indefinitely as Mlb did with hurtful and discriminating heckles by fans. “”
The former deputy prosecutor general for Virginia Gene Rossi said: “At any sporting event, a fan has a ticket for the privilege of watching higher athletes. In WNBA games, a fan has the right to encourage, Boo and express themselves within the limits of Decorum. However, hoodlums and vessers who throw objects not to aband and possibly tolerance. “
What people say
Speaking on a podcast, before his own incident, Cunningham said: “‘I thought as, if someone launched this thing and as, first of all, the rebound that this thing had, if it strikes someone in the face, you know it will be plastered everywhere.
“I just know how things get viral now. And I just know that this thing like, even came like the rafters or bouncing and just slapped me. This would be for life for. So I was just trying to protect all of our images.”
The New York Liberty Power Isabelle Harrison striker posted on X Friday: “Safety of the Arena?! Hello?
The center of the Chicago sky, Elizabeth Williams, said after Friday’s match in Wentrust Arena, by ESPN: “It’s super disrespectful. I don’t really understand. He is really immature. The one who does must grow.”
Valkyries goalkeeper Tiffany Hayes said at an post-match press conference: “One of our players was almost touched, so it’s very dangerous.”
The WNBA said in a press release: “The security and well-being of everyone in our arenas is an absolute priority for our league. Objects of any type thrown in the field or in the living room area may present a risk of security for players, game managers and fans. In accordance with the safety standards of the WNBA Arena, any fan who intentionally throws an object in the court will be immediately ejected and will face a minimum prohibition arrest and proseer by local authorities.
What happens next
It remains to be seen that these incidents continue. If they do, some people are betting on the color of the next toy, according to a story on Talkbasket.net.
