Why Are People Throwing Dildos at WNBA Players—and What TF Is Wrong With Them?
A bright green dildo landed on the court mid-game at Crypto.com Arena during a matchup between the Los Angeles Sparks and Indiana Fever. Indiana guard Sophie Cunningham was just feet away. She had already asked fans to stop throwing sex toys, warning, “You’re going to hurt one of us.” But here we are.
And this isn’t an isolated incident. It’s part of a coordinated campaign by a group of crypto trolls using sex toys to boost the value of a meme coin called Green Dildo Coin.
Yes, really. And it’s as gross, misogynistic, and dangerous as it sounds.
So, what’s actually happening at these WNBA games?
According to The New York Times, at least six WNBA games since July 29 have been disrupted by the same bright green dildo. Some were thrown directly onto the court. Others landed in the stands. The latest incident happened on August 5 during the Sparks-Fever game, where Sparks star Kelsey Plum kicked the object off the playing surface.
Multiple livestreams and Telegram messages show a group of anonymous users coordinating these incidents. They cheer each time the dildo gets airtime. “Someone is tweeting that there’s one at the Sparks game,” one person said during a livestream. “That is literally the best case scenario that we could possibly imagine,” another replied.
Their goal? To generate social media chaos and pump the value of their crypto project, Green Dildo Coin ($DILDO). As of August 8, the coin’s value had nearly tripled in one week, per The New York Times.
This isn’t a joke. It’s targeted harassment of the players
Let’s be clear: these aren’t harmless stunts. They’re calculated acts of sexual harassment, disguised as internet “pranks.” According to Glamour, “The intent is to sexualize and demean the women players because they are women. And that is nothing new at all.”
Cosmopolitan put it even more bluntly: “People are paying good money to attend a professional basketball game just to throw a [sex toy] at the players’ feet… This is misogyny, plain and simple.”
Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve told reporters, “The sexualization of women is what’s used to hold women down, and this is no different. These people that are doing this should be held accountable. We’re not the butt of the joke. They are the problem.”
WNBA players are over it and speaking up
At first, some players laughed it off. But as the incidents kept piling up, their tone changed.
“It’s super disrespectful,” said Chicago Sky center Elizabeth Williams after the August 1 incident. “I don’t really get the point of it. It’s really immature. Whoever is doing it needs to grow up.”
Sophie Cunningham, who got hit during the Sparks game, had previously posted on X: “Stop throwing dildos on the court … you’re going to hurt one of us.” After getting targeted, she posted: “This did NOT age well,” along with a self-deprecating Instagram story.
Even Diana Taurasi weighed in: “I would have picked that thing up and thrown it right back at them,” she said, according to Front Office Sports.
Sparks coach Lynne Roberts called the behavior “ridiculous,” “dumb,” and “stupid.” New York Liberty player Isabelle Harrison added, “This is like, let’s be professional here. I get the jokes, and things can be funny, but it just gets to a point. So like, I’m just really over it, and I know other players are over it.”
WNBA teams are investigating, but the crypto trolls don’t care
According to The Athletic, the league is investigating and has communicated with the players’ union about the coordinated nature of the incidents. “The league advised the players’ union that it was investigating claims that individuals were being incentivized to carry out these unsafe stunts,” said Terri Jackson, executive director of the union.
Law enforcement has already made arrests. On July 29, 23-year-old Delbert Carver was arrested in Georgia and charged with disorderly conduct, public indecency, and criminal trespass. On August 5, 18-year-old Kaden Lopez was arrested at a Mercury game in Phoenix for throwing a dildo that hit a man and his 9-year-old niece, according to police statements cited by The New York Times.
But crypto trolls in the Green Dildo Coin community are treating the arrests like entertainment. On a livestream, one user said, “We support green dildo throwers.” Another boasted about coordinating with “community members” to toss toys at arenas.
Crypto chaos, misogyny, and the cost of visibility for women in sports
The anonymous creator of Green Dildo Coin, who goes by “Lt. Daldo Raine,” told USA Today the WNBA disruptions were “about making an impact in crypto culture.” He compared the project to Dogecoin and said they chose this tactic to make people laugh.
But as New York University blockchain expert Christian Grewell told The New York Times, this isn’t funny. “The dildo-throwing incidents were essentially an excuse for bad actors to hijack existing negativity and convert it into attention,” he said.
The online harassment hasn’t stayed in crypto circles. On Thursday, Donald Trump Jr. shared a meme of his father, President Donald J. Trump, throwing a sex toy off the White House roof onto a WNBA court. “Posted without further comment,” he wrote, followed by three crying-laughing emojis. The meme circulated widely on X, adding fuel to an already hostile and deeply misogynistic environment.
Meanwhile, the women of the WNBA are left to deal with the fallout. “What my job is, it’s not a joke,” Liberty’s Isabelle Harrison said. “We just need to take it more seriously.”
