Category: Women’s National Basketball Association

COLLEGE PARK, GEORGIA – JULY 29: Jordin Canada #3 of the Atlanta Dream drives against Carla Leite #0 of the Golden State Valkyries during the second quarter at Gateway Center Arena on July 29, 2025 in College Park, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

During several WNBA games in the summer of 2025, a disturbing trend emerged: spectators began throwing sex toys onto the court, disrupting play and creating unsafe and degrading conditions for players and fans. The first widely reported incident occurred on July 29, 2025, during a matchup between the Atlanta Dream and the Golden State Valkyries, when a lime-green dildo landed on the court and halted the game (Glamour, 2025; Washington Post, 2025). In the weeks that followed, similar disruptions occurred in Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and New York, with at least six games affected despite arrests and increased security measures (Andscape, 2025). One incident in New York nearly struck a 12-year-old spectator, underscoring the physical danger posed by these objects (New York Post, 2025).

Law enforcement identified and arrested several individuals connected to the incidents. Delbert Carver, 23, was arrested in connection with the initial Atlanta game disruption, while 18-year-old Kaden Lopez was arrested in Phoenix after striking a man and his 9-year-old niece with a thrown sex toy (Washington Post, 2025; Them, 2025). Both claimed their actions were impulsive pranks. Later, a cryptocurrency meme-coin group took credit for orchestrating the stunts as a promotional gimmick for “Green Dildo Coin” (ESPN, 2025).

While some online commentators framed the events as harmless or absurd, such interpretations ignore the deeper implications. WNBA athletes already contend with systemic bias and underrepresentation in sports media. By introducing an explicitly sexual object into their workplace, these incidents reinforce the sexualization of female athletes and minimize their professional achievements, reducing them to objects of ridicule and harassment. Cheryl Reeve, coach of the Minnesota Lynx, criticized the acts as “the latest version” of the ongoing sexualization of women in sports (Global News, 2025). Andscape’s coverage was even more direct, framing the behavior as a perpetuation of rape culture, noting that a man throwing a phallic object at a women’s sporting event is not comedy but an assertion of dominance (Andscape, 2025).

The incidents also illustrate the interplay between misogyny, viral marketing, and meme culture. In an era where online clout often outweighs human decency, such stunts are engineered for virality rather than protest, turning women’s sports into backdrops for digital spectacle (The Guardian, 2025). As the WNBA experiences rising popularity and visibility, with athletes like Sophie Cunningham drawing growing attention, the behavior can also be seen as a reactionary attempt to undermine women’s empowerment (Glamour, 2025).

Ultimately, these disruptions are not harmless pranks but acts of harassment that threaten both the safety and dignity of athletes and spectators. They signal the persistence of a culture that devalues women’s athletic accomplishments and views women’s bodies as fair game for public ridicule. Respect for female athletes must be non-negotiable, and addressing this behavior requires a collective response from leagues, security personnel, media, and fans to ensure that the court remains a space for competition, not degradation.

References

Andscape. (2025, August 8). Sex toys on the court? This is about more than the WNBA. Andscape. https://andscape.com/features/wnba-sex-toys-on-court/

ESPN. (2025, August 7). Crypto group says it orchestrated WNBA sex toy tosses. ESPN. https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/45923322/crypto-group-says-orchestrated-sex-toy-tosses-wnba-games

Glamour. (2025, August 8). Throwing dildos at WNBA games has become a trend. We need to talk about it. Glamour. https://www.glamour.com/story/throwing-dildos-wnba-games-trend

Global News. (2025, August 9). WNBA sex toys thrown on court: Coach calls it latest sexualization of women. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/11323758/wnba-sex-toys-thrown-on-court-crypto/

New York Post. (2025, August 8). More sex toys thrown during Sky-Dream game despite recent arrests: “It’s dumb.” New York Post. https://nypost.com/2025/08/08/sports/more-sex-toys-thrown-during-sky-dream-game-despite-recent-arrests/

The Guardian. (2025, August 8). WNBA sex toy throwing shows meme culture’s shameful collapse. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/aug/08/wnba-sex-toy-throwing-meme-culture-shame-collapse

Them. (2025, August 6). Man arrested after throwing sex toy at WNBA game. Them. https://www.them.us/story/wnba-dildo-atlanta-dream

Washington Post. (2025, August 9). How a sex toy meme-coin hijacked the WNBA. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/08/09/wnba-sex-toys-crypto-meme-coin-timeline/

WNBA New Collective Bargaining Agreement

By Katherine Walter

On January 15, 2020

In Women's National Basketball Association

Yesterday the WNBPA and the WNBA reached a historic agreement that included a 50-50 revenue sharing. This puts it on par with how the NBA is structured.

Travel has always been a problem as well. Although they won’t be traveling via chartered flights as the do in the NBA, they will be now flying in premium economy class on commercial airlines. They also will not be sharing hotel rooms with other players with each player getting her own room. There has been problems with getting to games at a reasonable time.

The following are the key elements in the new 2020 WNBA-WNBPA Collective Bargaining Agreement:

Additional cash compensation elements:

– Minimum of $1.6 million in off-season league and team marketing agreements, that both recognize top performance and highlight the diversity of the league, and would create up to $300,000 in additional annual cash compensation for select players.
– Minimum of $750,000 in prize money for special competitions beginning with the 2021 season.
– New 50-50 revenue sharing beginning with the 2021 season, based on the league achieving revenue growth targets from broadcast agreements, marketing partnerships and licensing deals.
– Increases in cash bonuses for performance awards (such as for WNBA MVP and Rookie of the Year), and newly created cash bonuses (such as for each player named to the WNBA All-Defensive First Team).

Quality of travel elements:

– Premium Economy class status (such as Comfort/Economy Plus) for all players for regular-season air travel.
– Individual hotel room accommodations for every player.
– A collaborative effort to address travel concerns through the Player Advisory Panel.

Motherhood and family planning elements:

– Players to receive full salary while on maternity leave.
– A new annual childcare stipend of $5,000.
– Two-bedroom apartments for players with children.
– Workplace accommodations that provide a comfortable, safe and private place for nursing mothers.
– New, progressive family planning benefits of up to a $60,000 reimbursement for veteran players for costs directly related to adoption, surrogacy, oocyte cryopreservation or fertility/infertility treatment.

Free agency elements

– Unrestricted free agency available to players one year earlier than under the prior agreement beginning with the free agency period leading up to the 2021 season. Specifically, players who complete the playing services called for in their contract and have five or more years of service will become unrestricted free agents (if they are not designated as a “Core” player).
– Reduction in the number of times a player can receive the “Core” designation – from four to three beginning with the 2020 season, dropping to two beginning with the 2022 season.

Career development and other quality of life elements:

– The WNBA will work with its affiliated leagues, teams and sponsors to provide off-season job opportunities designed to prepare players for their post-playing careers and will advance diversity in coaching initiatives for veteran players interested in coaching careers.
– Enhanced mental health benefits and resources.
– An augmented and holistic domestic/intimate partner violence program that includes education and counseling.
– A joint Nutrition Council committed to identifying resources and address proper nutrition to optimize athletic performance.
– Access to experts in women’s health and representation on league policy committees.