WBNA Coach Speaks Out Against Sex Toys Thrown Onto Court: ‘We’re Not the Butt of the Joke’

Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve is speaking out about a string of incidents during which sex toys have been tossed onto the court during recent WNBA games.

“The sexualization of women is what’s used to hold women down, and this is no different,” Reeve, 58, told Minnesota ABC affiliate KSTP. “These people that are doing this should be held accountable. We’re not the butt of the joke, they’re the problem.”

The coach added that this is only the “latest version” of the sexualization of women, which has gone on for “centuries.”

“The sexualization of women is what’s used to hold women down,” Reeve reiterated. “It should not be the butt of jokes on any radio show or in print, or any comments.”

On July 29, a green object, later identified as a sex toy, was tossed onto the court during a WNBA game between the Golden State Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream. A 23-year-old Georgia man was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, public indecency/indecent exposure and criminal trespass, according to the Clayton County, Ga., court system, The Athletic reported.

Kaden Lopez was taken into custody at the matchup between the Phoenix Mercury and Connecticut Suns after police say he threw a green sex toy in front of him on Tuesday, Aug. 5, according to Fox 10 Phoenix. Lopez, 18, was captured on video throwing the “green dildo” towards the court in Phoenix.

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A third incident happened during the Tuesday, Aug. 5, game between the Indiana Fever and the Los Angeles Sparks at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

Shortly before the incidents began, a memecoin — a cryptocurrency deriving from an internet meme — called Green Dildo Coin went live online, per The Athletic.

PEOPLE has reached out to the WNBA to confirm if these incidents remain under investigation.