An Arizona teenager was arrested after throwing a sex toy into the crowd at a Phoenix Mercury game, police said, marking the fourth time such a “stupid prank” has unfolded at a WNBA contest in the past two weeks.
Kaden Lopez, 18, was booked on disorderly conduct, assault and public display of explicit sexual material after he allegedly threw a green sex toy toward seats in front of him at PHX Arena during Tuesday’s game against the Connecticut Sun, according to court documents.
The object hit a man and his 9-year-old niece, police said. The incident was caught on video that allegedly showed Lopez remove the object from his sweater, throw it, then leave the area, according to Maricopa County filings.
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He was tackled by a witness who held him on the ground until police arrived, the documents said.
The man hit by the toy said he was watching the game with his niece when he felt something hit him in the back of the head and saw it land on the ground next to them.
Lopez told investigators he was “very sorry” and reasoned he was just participating in the vulgar trend.
“It was just a stupid prank that was trending on social media,” he told investigators, according to court documents.
Lopez said he bought the sex toy the day prior and planned to take it to the game. He said he didn’t intend to hit anyone or for the object to fall next to a child, court documents said.
The man hit by the object, the WNBA and PHX Arena wanted to press charges.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said Thursday a Maricopa County Superior Court Commissioner found no probable cause for the felony charge of public display of explicit sexual material, but is recommending the other misdemeanor charges be submitted to the city prosecutor.
Lopez was allowed to be released on the conditions that barred from returning to the arena and from having contact with the victims. He has a preliminary hearing set for Aug. 25.
It’s not immediately clear if he’s retained an attorney.
“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 WNBA spokesperson said Thursday.
Any fan who intentionally throws an object onto the court will be ejected and face a minimum one-year ban in addition to being subject to arrest and prosecution, the spokesperson said.
The arrest marks the latest in a string of object-throwing incidents at WNBA games.
On July 29, a fan hurled a bright green sex toy on the floor at Gateway Center in College Park, Georgia, during the Golden State Valkyries-Atlanta Dream game.
In that case, Carver Delbert, 23, was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, public indecency and criminal trespass.
He was arrested on Aug. 1 at Gateway Center after a security officer saw Delbert filming himself while throwing a sex toy in the middle of the floor one minute before the Atlanta-Dream-Phoenix Mercury game was over, according to his arrest report.
After he threw the object he tried to run, but was arrested.
He later told officers, “This was supposed to be a joke and this joke supposed to go viral,” arrest documents said.
Delbert also told officer he and his friends were at the Atlanta Dream game on July 29 and they threw a sex toy in the middle of the game and fled the scene. The charges are in connection with that incident.
Then, on Friday, a similar incident happened during the third quarter of Golden State’s game against the Chicago Sky at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
Then on Tuesday night, a device was hurled from the stands and landed on the floor of Crypto.com Arena during the Indiana Fever-Los Angeles Sparks game, landing near the feet of Fever guard Sophie Cunningham.
“I think it’s ridiculous. It’s dumb. It’s stupid,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts told reporters after the game. “It’s also dangerous, and players’ safety is No. 1. Respecting the game. All those things. I think it’s really stupid. That’s all I’m going to say.”
