After more than a week of WNBA games being interrupted by neon green sex toys, a cryptocurrency group has claimed responsibility.
A spokesperson for the group behind a meme coin called Green Dildo Coin spoke to USA Today in an interview published Thursday, taking credit for what the group called “pranks” at six different WNBA games since July 29. The spokesperson remained anonymous for the interview, with USA Today citing “the sensitive nature of the issue.”
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The latest incident arrived later in the day, with a pair of sex toys thrown at a game between the Chicago Sky and Atlanta Dream. One made it to the court.
Per USA Today, the supposedly “lighthearted” meme coin was launched on July 28 as a counter to what the group considers a “toxic environment” in the crypto world. The group coordinated plans to enter WNBA arenas with green sex toys to promote the launch, according to text messages obtained by USA Today. The first sex toy incident took place on July 29, the day after the launch.
The spokesperson told USA Today that the stunt was not intended to harm anyone or disrespect the game.
“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,” he 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.
“We knew that in order to get a voice in the space … we had to go out and do some viral stunts to save us from having to pay that influencer cabal, sacrifice our souls and the fate of the project, more or less.”
Some players and coaches in the WNBA have not taken the issue so lightly. Though a few players were amused by the early incidents, others have made their opinions clear.
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On July 29, a sex toy landed on the court at the Golden State Valkyries-Atlanta Dream game. In the week since, the objects have made it onto the courts or in the stands at five other games, including another Dream game, the Chicago game last week, and the Sparks, New York Liberty and Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday.
Two people have been arrested in connection with the stunts so far. Last Saturday, a person was arrested in connection with the first incident at the Valkyries-Dream game. On Wednesday, an 18-year-old was arrested for throwing the object at the Mercury game, with the sex toy hitting a fan in the stands who was attending with his 9-year-old niece.
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The other suspects are still being identified. A spokesperson for the Sparks told the Los Angeles Times on Thursday that the team is working with arena personnel to find who was responsible for Tuesday’s incident, and “take appropriate action.”
The spokesperson told USA Today that the two people who were arrested were not part of their group. The 18-year-old, Kaden Lopez, reportedly apologized for throwing the object and described it as a “stupid prank that was trending on social media,” with documents showing that he had bought the sex toy the day before the game.
The spokesperson said that the group is planning more “pranks” to promote the coin, but that they will be “lighter” and “more tasteful.” However, the group seems to be moving on from the WNBA, with the goal of having the objects in other “high-traffic areas.”
The same thing still happened on Thursday, though.