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Cathy Engelbert and the WNBA front office have dealt with all kinds of controversies in recent years, but none has been as annoyingly persistent at games as sex toys being thrown onto courts.
After the league was forced to issue a statement during the 2025 season about green sex toys being thrown onto courts by fans for a few weeks, the trend appeared to die down. But at Friday night's Dream vs. Valkyries matchup, for the second-straight night, sex toys were thrown onto the floor toward players.
Postgame, Chicago veteran guard Natasha Cloud had something to say about the sex toy incidents — but her response resulted in some public backlash.
Here's what Cloud said in a rant about the sex-toy-throwing incidents and why it was negatively perceived by fans.
MORE: Full timeline of WNBA sex toy incidents, dating back to 2025 season
Natasha Cloud sex toy rant
Cloud was not happy about the return of green sex toys being thrown onto WNBA courts. Asked about the incident at her team's matchup on Friday night, she went on a rant for nearly two minutes, calling the fans who throw them "lame as f—"
"Man, and like, in most of these occasions, it’s men. And I want you to know that is the gayest thing that you can do is to go to a store, a sex shop, buy a dildo, come to a women’s game to throw the dildo on the court. That is the gayest s— that I’ve ever heard," Cloud said. "So I’m a firm believer in anyone that has so much problem with a certain marginalized group, just come out and say that you’re a part of our marginalized group because that hate is unwarranted. It’s not factual."
Cloud, continued, describing the incidents as "weird" behavior by fans.
"And it says more about the internal struggles of that individual than it ever will say about the collective group," Cloud said. "The men that are throwing it, shows that you are weak. Like, extremely weak. And it says a lot about how you feel about women. Y’all lame to us. Y’all gay to us."
"We see it. Keep throwing them if you want to keep telling us you’re gay. You can come out. You’ll be happier. You’ll be nicer to people. You’ll be happier in your everyday life. You don’t need to go to therapy or none of that s—. Just be yourself. Y’all weird. Like it says dildo on their credit card. Like they have to go through their financial advisor and be like, ‘What’s this green dildo? You good, Chad? You good, Richard? Are you good, Paul?’ Because it also is a certain demographic."
Natasha Cloud on the dildos thrown on the court:
“In most of these occasions, it’s men. And I want you to know that’s the gayest thing that you can do is go to a sex shop, buy a dildo, come to a women’s game to throw the dildo on the court.”
Full answer ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/LqjWdfG6Jl
MORE: What to know about sex toys being thrown at Dream vs. Sparks, Sky vs. Valkyries
Why was Natasha Cloud's presser problematic?
Cloud was not the first WNBA player to publicly criticize fans for throwing sex toys on the court. The premise behind her rant backed those other players: calling for an end to the unnecessary behavior at games. But Cloud also received backlash after her rant on Friday.
Cloud — who has publicly identified with the LGBTQ community herself — received criticism for using "gay" with a derogatory connotation during her press conference.
Fans on social media criticized Cloud for using "gay" as an insult during her rant.
Natasha Cloud attacking gay people. And using gay as an insult. https://t.co/EbmSs5L2Hn
— Goddy (@slimreezygoddy) August 22, 2026not a fan of using gay as an insult, even if you're in the community yourself https://t.co/BVM5Q9kqFo
— no⁴⁴ (@worldchamp44) August 22, 2026WNBA sex toy incidents
After around a year without any issues, Friday's incident with green sex toys being thrown onto the court was the second-straight night with an incident for the WNBA.
During the 2025 season, it became common to hear of green sex toys being thrown onto courts, with multiple arrests made and public criticism from players, media members and more. In 2025, a collective of unnamed cryptocurrency investors claimed responsibility for some of the throwing, saying that the act was part of a rollout of a meme coin created, aiming to bring more attention to the cryptocurrency environment.
Eventually, the trend came to a halt in 2025. But now, after two instances of sex toys on the court in the past week, the issue has returned.
Someone threw a Dildo onto the sparks court and Angel Reese saw who threw it 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/hii38Bzs62
— Gio (@jsmove7) August 21, 2026The three green dildos thrown on the court at Wintrust Arena in the third quarter of the Chicago Sky-Golden State Valkyries game. https://t.co/bJZugXCqSM pic.twitter.com/HZW7SZrwaS
— Colin Salao (@colincsalao) August 22, 2026Will Natasha Cloud be punished by the WNBA?
The WNBA has not announced any discipline for Cloud's postgame comments about sex toys being thrown onto courts.
However, with some fans calling for her to be disciplined by the league for speaking in a homophobic manner, Cloud could be facing a fine.
The NBA has dealt with similar instances in the past; in 2024, Hornets star LaMelo Ball was fined $100,000 for saying “no homo” during a postgame interview. In 2022, Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards was also fined $40,000 for the use of “offensive and derogatory language” in a social media video.
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