It’s all fun and games until a child gets hit by a flying green sex toy.
An 18-year-old was arrested after allegedly throwing a dildo and hitting a nine-year-old girl and her uncle during the WNBA game between the Phoenix Mercury and Connecticut Sun on Tuesday.
According to FOX 10 Phoenix, Kaden Lopez was taken into custody by Phoenix police at PHX Arena after he allegedly threw a “green dildo” as the game was in progress.
Lopez was booked on suspicion of disorderly conduct, assault and public display of explicit sexual material. According to reports, Lopez has been cooperative with police in the investigation.
“Ultimately, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office will make the final decision on prosecution,” a department spokesperson said.
The outlet reported that court documents state the male victim said he and his niece had been watching the action, “when something hit his back then fell to the ground next to them.”
The incident reportedly was captured on video and an arena volunteer witnessed it before following Lopez and tackling him to prevent him from leaving while waiting for authorities to arrive.
“Video footage shows Lopez, sitting in his seat, he retrieves the green dildo from his sweater front pocket then throws the dildo forward. He then stands up and leaves the area,” the court document stated.
Lopez, who allegedly bought the sex the day prior, reportedly was remorseful for his actions and called it a ”stupid prank that was trending on social media.”
PHX Arena, the WNBA and the man allegedly hit with the sex toy reportedly want Lopez to be prosecuted for disorderly conduct.
The alleged incident would be the fifth involving sex toys being thrown from the crowd during WNBA games in just over a week.
This worrying trend began last week, when a bright-green sex toy was thrown onto the court during a key moment in a game between the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries.
During the final minute of last Tuesday’s matchup, the object appeared to have been thrown from the stands, landing on the floor near the play before bouncing towards the sidelines.
Perhaps the oddest thing about the incident was that the refs didn’t immediately blow the whistle despite the item landing near several players. The officials waited until the ball went out of bounds before stopping play to have it removed.
A 23-year-old man identified as Delbert Carver, according to multiple reports, was arrested for throwing the object. According to Cleveland.com, he was charged with disorderly conduct, public indecency/indecent exposure and criminal trespass.
During the Aug. 1 game between the Valkyries and Sky in Chicago, another sex toy was thrown onto the court during a game, leading to a stoppage in play.
In Tuesday’s game between the Fever and the Sparks in Los Angeles, Fever star Sophie Cunningham appeared to have been grazed by a dildo thrown during action.
As Cunningham approached the free-throw line, the object hit the floor and appeared to graze the forward’s leg. She hopped up on one foot and held up her arms as she began to realize what had happened. Sparks star Kelsey Plum then walked up to the bright-green object and kicked it off the court.
Cunningham had been one of several WNBA stars to speak out about the lurid objects being thrown on the court, worrying that someone could end up hurt.
“Stop throwing dildos on the court,” she posted on social media site X last week. “You’re going to hurt one of us.”
However, Cunningham seemed to take the latest incident in stride, replying to the tweet earlier Wednesday morning with the comment: “this did NOT age well.”
Cunningham also confirmed on an Instagram Story that she did, in fact, get hit by the object.
“No way that thing actually hit me. I knew I shouldn’t have tweeted that,” Cunningham wrote on her Instagram Story early Wednesday.
Finally, during the game between the Dallas Wings and New York Liberty, another bright-green sex toy was thrown, but it didn’t reach the court and landed at a fan’s feet, according to a fan video.
“The safety and wellbeing of everyone in our arenas is a top priority for our league,” the WNBA said in a recent statement. “Objects of any kind thrown onto the court or in the seating area can pose a safety risk for players, game officials, and fans. In line with WNBA Arena Security Standards, any fan who intentionally throws an object onto the court will be immediately ejected and face a minimum one-year ban in addition to being subject to arrest and prosecution by local authorities.”