PHOENIX – An 18-year-old man was arrested for allegedly throwing a sex toy in the crowd during a Phoenix Mercury WNBA game this week, authorities said.
Kaden Lopez is accused of throwing the object during Tuesday night’s game between the Mercury and Connecticut Sun at PHX Arena.
The sex toy, described as “a green dildo” in court documents, hit a man in the back and landed next to his 9-year-old niece.
Over the last week, sex toys have been thrown onto the court at games in Atlanta, Los Angeles and Chicago. Players have said the practice is disrespectful and potentially dangerous.
How was man suspected of throwing sex toy caught?
According to court documents, Lopez was at his seat when he took the object from his sweater pocket and heaved it forward before leaving the area.
An arena volunteer who witnessed the incident tackled Lopez and held him until police arrived.
According to the probable cause statement for his arrest, Lopez apologized and told police he was copying a prank he’d seen trending on social media.
“He explained he bought the dildo yesterday just to take it with him to the game. He stated his intent was not to hit anyone, or for the dildo to fall next to a child,” the arrest report says.
PHX Arena and WNBA officials told police they wanted Lopez to be prosecuted.
He was booked into jail on counts of assault, disorderly conduct and public display of obscene material.
A court officer dismissed the obscene material charge due to lack of probable cause and ordered Lopez to be released on his own recognizance. His next court appearance was scheduled for Aug. 21.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
