As the WNBA gains more attention, it’s also dealing with strange disruptions. At least five incidents of neon sex toys being thrown at games have been reported this season. One landed on the court during the final seconds of the Sky’s 86-65 loss to the Dream on Thursday night, marking the second time it has happened in Chicago. Another was thrown behind the Dream bench.
The Sky had no official comment, though Sky CEO Adam Fox told Front Office Sports that police have been investigating the
Aug. 1 incident.
Earlier on Thursday, a group of crypto meme-coin creators claimed responsibility for the disruptions, according to USA Today. It’s a bizarre byproduct of a league going mainstream.
“We’ve come to the point where people are using our games to get publicity,” Sky guard Ariel Atkins said before the game. “We weren’t doing that two years ago, five years ago.”
But the disruptions are also disrespectful. Dream coach Karl Smesko emphasized that athletes deserve a safe working environment, while Sky coach Tyler Marsh pointed out the potential for injury. Over the weekend, the league released a statement saying anyone caught throwing objects again will be banned.
When it happened last Friday at Wintrust Arena, Sky center Elizabeth Williams had seen enough.
“I thought it was dumb before, and I still think it’s dumb,” Williams said Thursday, unimpressed by the fact that the disruptions were tied to the launch of a meme coin.
Many around the WNBA, including Williams, view the actions as demeaning, though the crypto group insists they don’t have anything against women.
“It says something to me that it happened at a women’s sporting event,” Williams said. “To me, that’s intentional, even if they don’t think it is.”
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, the league’s longest-tenured coach, agreed. “[The sexualization of women] has been going on for centuries,” she said. “This is the latest version of that. It’s not funny. It should not be the butt of jokes in radio shows or in print.”
At first, though, players couldn’t help but see the humor. When the first sex toy was thrown July 29 in Atlanta, Fever guard Sydney Colson, widely considered the league’s funniest player, tweeted: “Sorry I did NOT mean to throw that so far y’all.”
When it happened again in several more arenas, including Chicago, Angel Reese joined in, tweeting, “Hey @SydJColson, why do you keep throwing your mean green in different arenas…it’s getting weird.”
It kept getting weirder when the crypto group got involved. They say they’re protesting an emerging toxic culture in the crypto space. And they want to “take back crypto culture” by . . . throwing neon sex toys at WNBA games?
It’s unclear why they’re targeting the WNBA, other than to get attention for their coin.
“It sounds like we’re on the Reddit forums of crypto guys,” Atkins said before the game.
She captured the situation, balancing seriousness and absurdity: “I think it’s immature. But, whatever, as long as they don’t hit anybody. If you hit somebody, you should go to jail.”
But at least on Thursday night, it didn’t seem like anybody would be. After the game, a video surfaced showing police surrounding two fans, believed to be the offenders. But they left the arena after there was no proof they had thrown the objects.
After two dildos were thrown at the Chicago Sky game, two people were surrounded by security by the doors at Wintrust Arena. They were questioned about the incident.
They appeared to be in good spirits, even taking selfies at one point while apprehended.
They walked out of the… pic.twitter.com/FMAxa1EBBz
— Colin Salao (@colincsalao) August 8, 2025
It was a frustrating end to a frustrating night. The Sky (8-22) were clicking in the first half, holding the Dream to just 28 points and building a six-point lead. Then the Dream caught fire from beyond the arc and cruised to a 21-point win.