Just five days after she lashed out on Twitter against fans throwing sex toys on court during WNBA games, Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham was almost hit by one herself as her team took on Sparks in an encounter in Los Angeles. This marks the fourth such incident in the women’s basketball league in the span of a week.
“Stop throwing dildos on the court… you’re going to hurt one of us,” Cunningham had posted on August 2 after the first incident.
“This did NOT age well,” Cunningham wrote after the incident in her own game. She also posted a photo of herself on her Instagram handle and wrote: “No way that thing actually hit me. I knew I shouldn’t have tweeted that.”
After the incident — which occurred when there were 2:05 minutes left in the second quarter with Indiana trailing 41-51 — Cunningham walked over to the opposition team’s bench and was seen laughing about it. When the object landed close to her, Cunningham had jumped back in surprise. Another player, Kelsey Plum, kicked it into the stands.
“I think its ridiculous, it’s dumb, it’s stupid,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. “It’s also dangerous and players’ safety is number one. Respecting the game. All those things. I think it’s really stupid.”
Plum added that she thought both teams did a great job “playing on, don’t give it any attention. The refs too, I really appreciate them too, was just like hey let’s go.”
The Associated Press reported that green toys were also thrown in Phoenix and New York, but didn’t reach the court. The one at Barclays Center landed near a child.
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A week ago the first incident occurred in Atlanta late in the fourth quarter of the Dream’s game against Golden State in College Park, Georgia. A fan was arrested, according to the WNBA, and was ejected from the arena and faced a minimum one-year ban.
On Friday, another sex toy was thrown in Chicago under a basket after a whistle was blown to stop play during the third quarter of Golden State’s 73-66 victory over the Sky. An official kicked the object aside before it was picked up and removed.
(With inputs from AP)
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