Latest news with #Chicago Sky
Yahoo
10-08-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Another sex toy interrupts final seconds of WNBA game, as commissioner Cathy Engelbert denounces ‘totally unacceptable' trend
Yet another sex toy was thrown onto a WNBA court, this time in the closing seconds of the Atlanta Dream's 86-65 win over the Chicago Sky. With just under six seconds remaining at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago on Thursday, play was momentarily stopped after a purple toy was thrown from the stands – the fourth in growing lists of recent copycat incidents. According to Front Office Sports reporter Colin Salao, a second sex toy was thrown on Thursday but only made it behind the Dream's bench. Two people were questioned by security shortly after the incident, according to Salao, but were let go as there was no evidence they were responsible. CNN Sports has also reached out to the WNBA, the Chicago Sky and the Atlanta Dream for comment. Earlier this week, the WNBA said any fan caught throwing sex toys onto the court will face prosecution as well as a ban from the league. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has also denounced the trend, calling it 'unacceptable.' 'I'm almost in my 40th year in business and unfortunately we get these kinds of acts and it's totally unacceptable,' Engelbert said to Sportico Sports Business, before the latest incident on Thursday. 'These people are trading whatever notoriety they're getting for a felony conviction. So, we have caught two of the guys and they're being charged with felonies and it doesn't make any sense to me for whatever their little joy ride is.' She added: 'Hopefully, it just ends with the fact that, if you want a felony conviction on your record, go ahead and do it. But obviously it can be very dangerous to throw anything, let alone what they are throwing.' It is the second time a Sky game was interrupted by an incident. Last Friday, a sex toy was thrown from the stands during the team's game against the Golden State Valkyries. The toy landed just out of bounds underneath one of the baskets. A 'distraction' Earlier on Thursday, Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve called the growing number of incidents a 'distraction.' 'This has been going on for centuries,' Reeve told reporters. '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. '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 that are doing this should be held accountable and we're not the butt of the joke. They're the problem.' Thursday's incident also comes two days after a green toy was thrown in the direction of Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham during the team's game against the Los Angeles Sparks at the Arena. The 28-year-old Cunningham had previously asked people to stop throwing such objects earlier this week on social media but appeared to be struck on the leg by the toy during Tuesday's game. 'this did NOT age well,' she wrote on X after the game, replying to her own previous post calling for spectators to stop throwing sex toys on the court. She also had posted a message on her Instagram Stories, saying: 'No way that thing actually hit me. I knew I shouldn't have tweeted that.' The Valkyries and Dream were also subject to an incident at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia last week. The individual involved in the incident in Atlanta was identified and arrested, according to the WNBA. They are reportedly charged with disorderly conduct, public indecency/indecent exposure, and criminal trespass, according to Reuters, with a court date yet to be established. According to social media posts seen by the Associated Press, green toys were also previously thrown in Phoenix and New York, but didn't reach the court. A growing trend On Thursday, a group of cryptocurrency meme coin creators claimed responsibility for some of the incidents. In an interview with USA Today, a spokesperson for the group said members had started throwing the green items to coincide with the launch of a new meme coin, the name of which is a play on a type of sex toy. The spokesperson told the outlet the new coin was in protest of the current state of the crypto market, and the group said they were 'viral stunts' to gain attention for the coin, rejecting the narrative that the incidents were disrespectful towards women's athletes. 'We didn't do this because like we dislike women's sports or, like, some of the narratives that are trending right now are ridiculous,' the spokesperson said. 'Creating disruption at games is like, it happens in every single sport, right? We've seen it in the NFL, we've seen it in hockey, you know … fans doing random things to more or less create attention.'
Yahoo
10-08-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
‘It's super disrespectful': WNBA players exasperated after sex toy thrown onto court for second time in a week
WNBA players have spoken out after a second game this week was delayed due to a sex toy being thrown onto the court. In the third quarter of the Golden State Valkyries' 73-66 win over the Chicago Sky on Friday night, the bright green toy was thrown from the stands at Wintrust Arena in Chicago and landed just out of bounds underneath one of the baskets. With the Sky on the attack, the game was halted and an official kicked the object to the side, where it was picked up with a towel and removed. 'It's super disrespectful,' Sky center Elizabeth Williams told reporters afterward. 'I don't really get the point of it. It's really immature. Whoever's doing it just needs to grow up.' The incident came just three days after another sex toy was thrown onto the court during the Valkyries' 77-75 victory over the Atlanta Dream at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia. Following Friday's reoccurrence, a number of players from around the WNBA took to social media to comment on the incidents. 'ARENA SECURITY?! Hello??!' wrote New York Liberty forward Isabelle Harrison wrote on X. 'Please do better. It's not funny. never was funny. Throwing ANYTHING on the court is so dangerous.' Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham echoed Harrison's anger, writing: 'Stop throwing dildos on the court… you're going to hurt one of us.' The WNBA says any fan caught engaging in such behavior will face prosecution as well as a ban from the league. 'The safety and well-being of everyone in our arenas is a top priority for our league,' a WNBA spokesperson told CNN. 'Objects of any kind thrown onto the court or in the seating area can pose a safety risk for players, game officials, and fans. 'In line with WNBA Arena Security Standards, any fan who intentionally throws an object onto the court will be immediately ejected and face a minimum one-year ban in addition to being subject to arrest and prosecution by local authorities.' The individual involved in the incident in Atlanta was identified and arrested, according to the WNBA.
Fox News
08-08-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
Chicago Sky game becomes latest WNBA contest disrupted by sex toy being thrown on court as arrests continue
Another WNBA game was disrupted this week when a familiar and lewd object was thrown onto the court in the final seconds of a Chicago Sky game on Thursday night. The incident comes after at least two arrests were made in connection with the series of disruptions. Social media videos showed a sex toy – this time purple in color – launched onto the court in the final moments of the fourth quarter with the Atlanta Dream leading the Sky, 86-65. Another sex toy was reportedly thrown in the third quarter, but the object did not make it to the court and instead landed somewhere near the Dream bench. A suspect was detained and questioned by security at Wintrust Arena but was later released, the Chicago Tribune reported, citing a league source. Sex toys have been thrown in at least six WNBA games over the last week and a half. The first happened during a game in Atlanta on July 29. It happened for the first time in Chicago on Aug. 1, Los Angeles on Tuesday – nearly hitting Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, and again in Chicago on Thursday. Sex toys were also reportedly thrown at games in New York and Phoenix on Tuesday but did not appear to reach the court. An 18-year-old man was arrested and charged following the incident in Phoenix. He reportedly told police that he pulled the prank because it had been trending on social media. He was arrested on suspicion of assault, disorderly conduct and publicly displaying explicit sexual material. There is also an ongoing investigation surrounding the alleged incident in New York, the Liberty confirmed to The Associated Press. A man in Georgia was also arrested in connection with the first incident in Atlanta. He was charged with disorderly conduct, criminal trespassing, public indecency and indecent exposure. The league released a statement following that arrest, threatening prosecution and a ban on any fan that engages in similar behavior. "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 statement read. "In line with WNBA Arena Security Standards, any fan who intentionally throws an object onto the court will be immediately ejected and face a minimum one-year ban in addition to being subject to arrest and prosecution by local authorities." Players and coaches have continued to speak out against the disruptions.
CNN
08-08-2025
- Sport
- CNN
Another sex toy interrupts final seconds of WNBA game, as commissioner Cathy Engelbert denounces ‘totally unacceptable' trend
Yet another sex toy was thrown onto a WNBA court, this time in the closing seconds of the Atlanta Dream's 86-65 win over the Chicago Sky. With just under six seconds remaining at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago on Thursday, play was momentarily stopped after a purple toy was thrown from the stands – the fourth in growing lists of recent copycat incidents. According to Front Office Sports reporter Colin Salao, a second sex toy was thrown on Thursday but only made it behind the Dream's bench. Two men were questioned by security shortly after the incident, according to Salao, but were let go as there was no evidence they were responsible. CNN Sports has also reached out to the WNBA, the Chicago Sky and the Atlanta Dream for comment. Earlier this week, the WNBA said any fan caught throwing sex toys onto the court will face prosecution as well as a ban from the league. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has also denounced the trend, calling it 'unacceptable.' 'I'm almost in my 40th year in business and unfortunately we get these kinds of acts and it's totally unacceptable,' Engelbert said to Sportico Sports Business, before the latest incident on Thursday. 'These people are trading whatever notoriety they're getting for a felony conviction. So, we have caught two of the guys and they're being charged with felonies and it doesn't make any sense to me for whatever their little joy ride is.' She added: 'Hopefully, it just ends with the fact that, if you want a felony conviction on your record, go ahead and do it. But obviously it can be very dangerous to throw anything, let alone what they are throwing.' It is the second time a Sky game was interrupted by an incident. Last Friday, a sex toy was thrown from the stands during the team's game against the Golden State Valkyries. The toy landed just out of bounds underneath one of the baskets. Earlier on Thursday, Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve called the growing number of incidents a 'distraction.' 'This has been going on for centuries,' Reeve told reporters. 'The sexualization of women. This is the latest version of that. And its not funny and it should not be the butt of jokes on radio shows, or in print or any comments. '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 that are doing this should be held accountable and we're not the butt of the joke. They're the problem.' Thursday's incident also comes two days after a green toy was thrown in the direction of Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham during the team's game against the Los Angeles Sparks at the Arena. The 28-year-old Cunningham had previously asked people to stop throwing such objects earlier this week on social media but appeared to be struck on the leg by the toy during Tuesday's game. 'this did NOT age well,' she wrote on X after the game, replying to her own previous post calling for spectators to stop throwing sex toys on the court. She also had posted a message on her Instagram Stories, saying: 'No way that thing actually hit me. I knew I shouldn't have tweeted that.' The Valkyries and Dream were also subject to an incident at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia last week. The individual involved in the incident in Atlanta was identified and arrested, according to the WNBA. They are reportedly charged with disorderly conduct, public indecency/indecent exposure, and criminal trespass, according to Reuters, with a court date yet to be established. According to social media posts seen by the Associated Press, green toys were also previously thrown in Phoenix and New York, but didn't reach the court. On Thursday, a group of cryptocurrency meme coin creators claimed responsibility for some of the incidents. In an interview with USA Today, a spokesperson for the group said members had started throwing the green items to coincide with the launch of a new meme coin, the name of which is a play on a type of sex toy. The spokesperson told the outlet the new coin was in protest of the current state of the crypto market, and the group said they were 'viral stunts' to gain attention for the coin, rejecting the narrative that the incidents were disrespectful towards women's athletes. 'We didn't do this because like we dislike women's sports or, like, some of the narratives that are trending right now are ridiculous,' the spokesperson said. 'Creating disruption at games is like, it happens in every single sport, right? We've seen it in the NFL, we've seen it in hockey, you know … fans doing random things to more or less create attention.'
Washington Post
08-08-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Another WNBA game, again in Chicago, disrupted by a sex toy tossed onto the court
CHICAGO — A sex toy was thrown onto the court in the closing seconds of the Atlanta Dream's 86-65 victory over the Chicago Sky on Thursday night, the latest such incident at a WNBA game. Sex toys also were thrown on court during games in Atlanta on July 29, Chicago on Friday and Los Angeles on Tuesday. Police said a second toy was thrown at the game in Atlanta, but it's unclear if that one reached the court. A man was arrested Saturday in College Park, Georgia, after he was accused of throwing a sex toy onto the court during the Dream's July 29 game with the Golden State Valkyries, according to a police report. The report said he threw another sex toy during the Dream's game on Friday against the Phoenix Mercury. He was charged with disorderly conduct, criminal trespassing, public indecency and indecent exposure. Another man in Phoenix was arrested after police say he threw a sex toy in the crowd at a Mercury game on Tuesday. Police say the 18-year-old pulled the sex toy from his sweater pocket and threw it toward seats in front of him, striking a spectator in the back. Police say the man was arrested on suspicion of assault, disorderly conduct and publicly displaying explicit sexual material. The WNBA said any spectators throwing objects onto the court will face at least a one-year ban and prosecution from law enforcement. ___ AP WNBA:
