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An 18-year-old was arrested for alleged involvement in the latest in a string of incidents involving fans at WNBA games launching brightly colored sex toys toward the court during game action.
Kaden Lopez was taken into custody by Phoenix police while inside PHX Arena after he allegedly threw a “green dildo” and struck a man and his 9-year-old niece during Tuesday’s contest between the Mercury and Sun, FOX 10 Phoenix reported on Wednesday night.
Lopez was booked on suspicion of disorderly conduct, assault and public display of explicit sexual material and appeared in court on Wednesday.
The Phoenix Police Department confirmed to The Post that an adult male was arrested on Aug. 5, around 8:03 p.m. local time, related to the incident, and that the person had been cooperative with officers.
“Ultimately, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office will make the final decision on prosecution,” a department spokesperson said.
Court documents viewed by FOX 10 stated that the male victim said that he and his niece had been watching the action, “when something hit his back then fell to the ground next to them.”
The documents indicated that he quickly realized that he had been struck with a sex toy and “desires prosecution.”
The incident was captured on video, and an arena volunteer witnessed it before following Lopez, tackling him to prevent him from leaving and waited for authorities to arrive, FOX 10 reported.
“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 allegedly bought the sex toy the day before to take to the game.
The court docs stated that Lopez was remorseful for what he had done and called it a ”stupid prank that was trending on social media.”
PHX Arena and the WNBA want Lopez to be prosecuted for disorderly conduct, FOX 10 reported.
The WNBA did not immediately respond to questions from The Post.
The incident in Phoenix is just the latest in an epidemic of similar instances where fans have launched objects toward the court during games. The sex toys made their way onto the courts during a game between the Valkyries and Dream in Atlanta on July 29, the Valkyries and Sky in Chicago on Aug. 1, and the Fever and Sparks in Los Angeles on Aug. 5.
The incident in Los Angeles on Tuesday garnered plenty of attention after the sex toy nearly struck Fever forward Sophie Cunningham and Sparks guard Kelsey Plum quickly kicked the item off the floor.
At Barclays Center, a sex toy was thrown, but did not reach the court, and the same happened with the incident in Phoenix.
“The safety and well-being 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.”
Earlier this week, 23-year-old Delbert Carver was arrested and is facing charges of disorderly conduct, public indecency/indecent exposure, and criminal trespass for the July 29 incident in Georgia.
