Late in the first half of a game between the Los Angeles Sparks and the Indiana Fever, a neon green sex toy was hurled from the stands, landing on the court at Crypto.com Arena, right at the feet of Indiana guard Sophie Cunningham. This incident coincided with an audio livestream on X, where a group of individuals celebrated the moment, recognizing its potential to increase the value of a specific memecoin—an unconventional cryptocurrency inspired by internet memes but traded in legitimate markets. This coin made its debut on July 28, just a day before the first incident of a sex toy being thrown during a WNBA game, and by Thursday, its value had nearly tripled within a week. “Someone is tweeting that there’s one at the Sparks game,” one participant remarked during the stream. Another quickly responded, “That is literally the best case scenario that we could possibly imagine,” highlighting the significance of the toy landing near Cunningham, who had previously urged fans to refrain from throwing such objects onto the court.
The events in Los Angeles, along with similar occurrences that evening, appear to stem from a coordinated effort rooted in the often enigmatic realms of internet culture, social media, and strategic plays in cryptocurrency. Much like various online interactions, participants often remain anonymous, especially in public environments. Memecoins, which are digital assets emerging from popular memes, represent a unique blend of humor and financial speculation, much like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu coin.
One participant in the livestream described the buzz generated by these incidents as “next level.” “This is empowering to every f—ing crypto community to start thinking outside the box. Get creative and f—ing do something that makes people actually laugh. Memecoins should make you laugh,” he asserted, emphasizing the goal of having an impact on the culture surrounding cryptocurrency.
The WNBA and its athletes have inadvertently become central figures in this ongoing joke, regardless of the intentions behind the coin’s creators or the reactions from players. Such incidents have opened avenues for critics to ridicule the league and women’s sports more broadly. “The sexualization of women is what’s used to hold women down, and this is no different,” remarked Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve. “These people that are doing this should be held accountable. We’re not the butt of the joke; they’re the problem.”
On Thursday, Donald Trump Jr. shared a meme depicting his father, former President Donald J. Trump, tossing a sex toy from the White House roof onto a basketball court filled with women players. “Posted without further comment,” the younger Trump added, accompanied by three crying laughing emojis.
Since July 29, three instances of neon green sex toys have been thrown onto WNBA courts. During Tuesday night’s game featuring the New York Liberty, a similar object was confiscated from the stands, while reports surfaced of an attempted throw at the Phoenix Mercury game, occurring simultaneously with the Sparks’ match. Additionally, discussions during the livestream indicated that someone had considered throwing another toy at the Seattle Storm’s Climate Pledge Arena during their game against the Minnesota Lynx, although no incident was confirmed by a Storm spokesperson.
The current spate of incidents seems to be linked to the crypto memecoin community behind Green Dildo Coin. During the livestream, members acknowledged their communication with those responsible for the toy tosses at WNBA venues. “I just got confirmation L.A. is out of the building,” one member stated shortly after the sex toy landed on the court, indicating that the individual who threw it had escaped undetected. “There are community members out there putting their f—ing lives on the line, so the least you can do is retweet,” the same member urged as the incident began to gain traction on social media.
A potential “tosser” in Seattle reportedly lost his phone in Lake Washington, which led to a connection being made through a friend for further communication. A source within the WNBA confirmed that the league is aware of the recent events involving Green Dildo Coin’s livestream.
Last week, a 23-year-old man from Georgia was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, public indecency, and criminal trespass following the first of these incidents. Messages shared within the stream and the community’s Telegram chat indicate that those involved with the Green Dildo Coin were not familiar with Delbert Carver before his arrest, although they had been alerted to monitor the Atlanta Dream versus Golden State Valkyries game on July 29. “Obviously, that was not anybody in the community,” a stream participant noted. “I didn’t want to give it any credit, but I was kind of thinking we could go and pay that guy’s bail, and just say, like you know what, we support green dildo throwers.”
The WNBA issued a statement on Saturday, emphasizing that anyone who throws objects onto the court will face immediate ejection, potential one-year bans, and possible arrest and prosecution by local authorities. “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 league declared.
An 18-year-old named Kaden Lopez was also arrested during Tuesday’s Mercury game after allegedly throwing a sex toy that struck a man and his nine-year-old niece. Sergeant Phil Krynsky of the Phoenix Police Department confirmed Lopez’s arrest in a statement.
The identities of those behind Green Dildo Coin remain unclear, although the memecoin’s website was registered on July 19, according to domain lookup services. Experts state that memecoins are inexpensive to create, often costing almost nothing, yet they can generate significant profits in a short time frame. The community has also set up an online store selling merchandise related to the sex toy and the memecoin, which was registered on July 7, just weeks before the initial incident.
Green Dildo Coin launched its X account on July 28, with its apparent founder, Lt. Daldo Raine, giving a nearly 15-minute speech mimicking a scene from Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds.” In this speech, he elaborated on the purpose of the memecoin, although the WNBA was not explicitly mentioned. Raine alluded to their “evidence of our cruelty” being displayed through the “giant green, aggressive, and erect candles we leave behind.”
During various livestreams, members frequently made crude jokes about the WNBA, often contrasting the sex toy with female players in memes. “The attention we created for a ($40) dildo and ($140) seats is next level,” one member proclaimed during the stream. “This is empowering to every f—ing crypto community to start thinking outside the box. Get creative and do something that makes people actually laugh. Memecoins should make you laugh. Memes should make you laugh. This is a movement to me to empower the average f—ing teacher. I don’t care if you have 100,000 followers or 10 followers. Your f—ing posts matter; they have the ability to go viral, as long as they’re actually f—ing funny.”
The incidents have seemingly influenced the trading price of $DILDO. According to cryptocurrency tracking websites, its trading volume exceeded $1.5 million from Wednesday to Thursday afternoon. Additionally, Polymarket, a crypto-based prediction platform, reported over $180,000 in volume on bets regarding whether a sex toy would be thrown at a game by August 10.
“The dildo-throwing incidents were essentially an excuse for bad actors to hijack existing negativity and convert it into attention,” remarked expert Christian Grewell in an email. Raine, speaking on behalf of the group, stated that while their disruptive actions at WNBA games may come to an end, the pranks themselves would continue. A photo circulated within the community’s Telegram chat showed a spectator holding a green sex toy during a Miami Marlins game.
“If we’re too disruptive for too long, people will get pissed off,” one member noted during the livestream. “For the bigger events, we gotta find creative ways to trick the cameras onto us and then, f—ing bingo.” WNBA players and coaches have expressed their concerns regarding these incidents, emphasizing the need for player safety. Following the second incident in Chicago, Sky center Elizabeth Williams characterized the behavior as “super disrespectful” and “really immature,” while Sparks coach Lynne Roberts described it as “ridiculous, it’s dumb, it’s stupid.”
