What the WNBA’s Sex Toy Attacks Reveal About the Trump Administration’s “Protecting Women in Sports” Agenda
In case we needed more proof we’re living in the worst timeline: Donald Trump Jr. recently shared a meme of his father—the sitting president—hurling a green dildo from the White House roof onto a superimposed image of a Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) game.
This baffling and deranged post on Trump Jr.’s Instagram was inspired by real-life WNBA spectators throwing sex toys at players during games. The first time this happened, in the final minutes of the Atlanta Dream-Golden State Valkyries game on July 29, players were surprised, but tried to valiantly shake it off as a weird, one-time incident.
But it was not a one-time incident.
Just days later, on Aug. 1, another green sex toy landed out of bounds during the third quarter of Golden State’s win over the Chicago Sky. Then, on Aug. 5, sex toys were thrown at three separate WNBA games—with one making it onto the court. In another recent incident, a 12-year-old girl was struck by a sex toy thrown at a New York Liberty-Dallas Wings game at Barclays Center.
These stunts turned out to be part of a bizarre cryptocurrency promotion, but they also reflect a long-standing pattern of using humiliation—often lewd—to make women feel objectified, uncomfortable, and unwelcome in sports.
“The sexualization of women is what’s used to hold women down, and this is no different,” Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said of the incidents.
The Trump administration has claimed itself to be a protector of women athletes, but it has been largely silent on this very real attack on women athletes. That’s because the administration’s efforts have never been about protecting women. Instead, their actions are an attempt to distract the public from their ongoing attacks on civil rights by making transgender athletes the boogeyman.
Trump Jr. is a prime example of this. When the University of Pennsylvania (his alma mater) stripped the record of former swimmer Lia Thomas, he applauded the move, calling it “YUGE win for female athletes.” But now, when there is an actual attack against women athletes in WNBA stadiums around the country, his first reaction is to mock them.
Trump Jr.’s hypocrisy is reflective of his father’s approach to this topic. Trump claims to be “protecting women in sports” while simultaneously harming them and ripping away their rights.
Shortly after taking office, Trump issued an executive order attempting to ban transgender students from participating in school sports. The White House touted the order as “ensuring equal opportunities for women in sports.” In reality, Trump is hurting all women with his anti-trans policies.
Research shows that trans sports bans actually result in fewer chances for cis girls to play. Trans students are already at a high risk for suicide because of discrimination and bullying, and sports bans could increase the levels of harassment that these students experience. The bans also pose dangers to anyone who doesn’t “look” feminine—subjecting women to invasive scrutiny and punishing those who don’t fit the white-washed model of femininity.
This poses real risks to athletes in the WNBA, a league known for its inclusivity of Black, brown, and queer women.
What’s more, women athletes today are still paid less than men, receive fewer scholarships than men, have fewer opportunities to play, and often train in poorly equipped training facilities. Trump has done nothing to solve these issues. In fact, the Trump administration rescinded Department of Education guidance in February that addressed how Title IX applies to Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) pay, thereby making it harder for women athletes to rely on federal protections of their right to get paid as much as their male counterparts.
What Trump has demonstrated is his desire to keep women on the sidelines, not protect them.
Women’s basketball is finally getting the attention it deserves, with record attendance, increased financial investment, and growing media coverage in the last few seasons. Everyone should be speaking out about these blatant attacks on women athletes, especially those on the right who claim to care so deeply about women in sports.
But we know that they won’t. Instead, they will continue to attack trans women, while undermining efforts to provide women with the real resources and support that they need to succeed.
These attacks are not a joke. They are not a punchline. The professional athletes in the WNBA have fought for and earned every victory they’ve gotten, and we cannot let these outrageous sex toy stunts distract from the players’ victories. They deserve better. All women athletes deserve better. This isn’t just a game—it’s a fight for dignity, equity, and the right to freely and proudly pursue your passions.
