The person responsible for throwing a sex toy onto the court at a Los Angeles Sparks game on Thursday has been banned from all WNBA and NBA games and was arrested, but was eventually released.

During a game between the Sparks and the Atlanta Dream, a bright green dildo was thrown onto the court just before Sparks forward Jihyun Park took a pair of free throws.

'On August 20, 2026, around 8:39 p.m., LAPD officers from Central Division responded to the 1000 block of S. Figueroa Street [Crypto.com Arena] to meet with security personnel who had detained a trespass suspect,' the LAPD said in a statement to the Daily Mail.

'The suspect, a male in his mid-20s, trespassed at the location and threw an item onto the court. Officers made contact with the suspect, who was issued a citation and released from custody (RFC).'

Officials added, 'Because this was a cite-and-release, no suspect information is available at this time.'

A video that has since gone viral showed the individual, who has not been otherwise publicly identified, racing away from security in an attempt to evade capture. 

Play was stopped and Dream star Angel Reese was seen pointing in the direction of the person who threw the object.

The Thursday incident brings back bad memories of last season when the league was rife with incidents involving sex toys being used as projectiles at WNBA games. 

The stunts appeared to have some involvement in the promotion of a meme crypto currency. It's unclear if this incident has a similar connotation.

Some of these grotesque events even led to players, including Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, being directly hit.

These incidents from last season led to bans from stadiums and even arrests of individuals responsible. 

One year ago today, a 32-year-old Ohio man identified as Charles Burgess was arrested for throwing the sex toy during a New York Liberty game that struck a 12-year-old girl.

Earlier last August, 18-year-old Kaden Lopez was arrested for disorderly conduct, assault and public display of explicit sexual material for throwing a sex toy onto the court of a game between the Connecticut Sun and the Phoenix Mercury.

Another man, 23-year-old Delbert Carver, was arrested for throwing sex toys on the floor at two separate WNBA games.

At the time, players and coaches expressed their outrage - including Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve. 

'I just want to comment on... this has been going on for centuries. The sexualization of women, this is the latest version of that. It's not funny,' said Reeve.

She continued: 'It should not be a butt of jokes on any radio show, or in print, or in any comments. The sexualization of women is what's used to hold women down and this is no different. 

'This is just the latest story, and we should write about it in that way. These people that are doing this should be held accountable. We're not the butt of the joke. They're the problem, and we need to take action.'