Featured Image Credit: NBA TV
Luke Davies
WNBA star Sophie Cunningham was quick to react after she was hit with what appeared to be a sex toy during Indiana Fever's 100-91 defeat to the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday.
Cunningham, 28, had earlier addressed the issue ahead of the match, as several players have been targeted by similar attacks in recent weeks.
The latest incident was the third during WNBA games in just seven days. Cunningham appeared to flinch when the green sex toy made contact with her during the second quarter of the clash, before Kelsey Plum kicked it into the stands.
Cunningham then appeared to laugh before walking over to Sparks’ bench. The first incident of its kind happened last week during the fourth quarter of the Dream’s game against Golden State in Georgia.
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The second occurred last Friday in Chicago, during the third quarter of Golden State’s 73-66 victory over the Sky.
“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,” a statement from the league read.
“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.”
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As reported by the Mail, a Georgia man was arrested for allegedly throwing a sex toy onto the floor of a WNBA game last week.
Police said he was arrested for throwing a sex toy onto the court during the Atlanta Dream's win over the Phoenix Mercury on Friday.
Cunningham took to X to address the most recent incident on Wednesday.
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An earlier tweet from the 28-year-old read: “Stop throwing dildos on the court… you’re going to hurt one of us.”
Cunningham then responded to her own tweet, writing: “This did NOT age well.”
The guard spoke in depth about the issue during an episode of the ‘Show Me Something’ podcast.
“I was thinking about like, if someone threw that thing and like, first of all, the bounce that that thing had, if that smacks someone in the face, you know that's gonna be plastered everywhere,” Cunningham said.
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“I just know how things go viral now. And I just know that thing like, even came from like the rafters or bounced and just slapped me right in the face. That would be what I'd be known for, for life. So I was just trying to protect all of our images.”