WNBA Game Halted Once Again After Sex Toy Flies onto Court for Second Time This Week

WNBA Game Halted Once Again After Sex Toy Flies onto Court for Second Time This Week

Shaina Benhiyoun/SPP/Sipa The Golden State Valkyries and the Chicago Sky faced off during a game on Friday, Aug. 1, at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago However, during the second half of the game, a patron threw a green sex toy onto the court This marks the second time this week a sex toy was tossed onto the court in the middle of the game Another WNBA game was halted due to an object being thrown onto the court. On Friday, Aug. 1, the Golden State Valkyries faced the Chicago Sky, and 7 minutes and 42 seconds into the third quarter, a patron threw an unexpected object onto the court of the Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The broadcast caught footage of a green sex toy being thrown on the sidelines just shy of the court, later shared onX. The referee quickly blew the whistle, halting the game, and the announcer is heard saying, "Got a whistle away from the basketball." A second referee went over to the object and kicked it off the sidelines, and then another staff member went to pick it up with a towel to remove it from the vicinity. Patrick McDermott/Getty https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf This marked the second time a sex toy was tossed onto the basketball court. On Tuesday, July 29, during the Golden State Valkyries' game against the the Atlanta Dream,a green sex toy landed on the courtduring the game's final seconds. "Something flies on the court actually from the crowd. And you can see the object... the green thing bounces and it goes to the sideline," sports announcer Morgan Ragan said. "We're not exactly sure where it came from," she continued, as a timeout was called and the game was paused. After the object was identified, she said, "Oh my gosh, OK. OK, inappropriate. Get them out of here, whoever it is [that threw it]." Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Following the second incident, Chicago Sky player Angel Reese wrote a cheekyX postand joked about Indiana Fever player, Sydney Colson, "hey @SydJColson,  why do you keep throwing your mean green in different arenas…. it's getting weird." Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham also shared anX post: "stop throwing dildos on the court… you're going to hurt one of us." The owners of the two sex toys have yet to be publicly identified, but if the arena had identified the perpetrators, they would have been immediately removed from the space due to the WNBA policy. According to the WNBA'sFan Code of Conducton its website, "Guests who engage in fighting, throwing objects or attempting to enter the court will be immediately ejected from the arena." Read the original article onPeople

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August 02, 2025

WNBA Game Halted Once Again After Sex Toy Flies onto Court for Second Time This Week

WNBA Game Halted Once Again After Sex Toy Flies onto Court for Second Time This Week Shaina Benhiyoun/SPP/Sipa The Golden State Valkyries an...

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Ex-Olympic champ Rowdy Gaines calls for changes at USA Swimming as team struggles in Singapore

Ex-Olympic champ Rowdy Gaines calls for changes at USA Swimming as team struggles in Singapore

SINGAPORE (AP) — Rowdy Gaines, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, minces few words when he broadcasts swimming for the American network NBC. And he didn't hold back in an interview with The Associated Press over the shaky state of American swimming. He's calling for big-time changes as the Americans struggle at the world championships in Singapore. The American team isn't winning as much as expected or dominating, it's battling a case of"acute gastroenteritis"picked up at training camp in Thailand before arriving in Singapore, and the governing body — USA Swimming — has been without a CEO for a year. Gaines called the body "rudderless." "Can you imagine any corporation going for a year without a CEO?" Gaines asked. Underwhelming Americans The Americans were also underwhelming a year ago at the Paris Olympics. They led the medal table, but won only eight gold medals, the lowest total since the 1988 Seoul Olympics. "We're far from killing it," said Gaines in a telephone interview from the United States. "It's a major struggle and we can't hide our heads in the sand and say this is just a blip." Gaines said he's been texting frequently with Greg Meehan, the national team director who was appointed four months ago. Meehan is also the head coach in Singapore. The American haven't said how many swimmers have fallen ill, but in an interview Meehan said "the overwhelming majority of the team has gone through something" at the championship." "Greg and I have been going back and forth in a very good way, very positive," Gaines said. He called Meehan a good choice and said he's had too little time to turn things around. Gaines also pointed out that the focus is the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. These world championships, less so. "I think he's (Meehan) going to be great," Gaines said. "He's got that calm reserve. He had great success at Stanford. He's coached some of the best swimmers ever. I think he's a good choice, he's just walking into a bit of a landmine." Thailand training camp Like many, Gaines questioned why the Americans picked Thailand as a training camp site and noted thatglobal swimmingnow has dozens of countries that can beat the Americans, and many of their elite athletes train in the States. Those include the two stars in Singapore: Frenchman Léon Marchand and Canadian Summer McIntosh. Marchand trains at the University of Texas at Austin, and McIntosh will be there this fall and join Bob Bowman's training group. Bowman is, of course, the former coach of American swimming legend Michael Phelps. "You can blame it on the illness, you can blame it on the inexperience -- most of these kids have never been in this situation -- and you can blame it on logistics," Gaines said. "Thailand doesn't make sense to me in the first place." He also put some blame on what he called the "state of today's athletes." "I think in some cases there's an entitlement for a lot of these kids, they feel like -- 'I should be in the finals of the world championships. And I can still do the peripheral stuff and not worry about making it all the way'." "I think there needs to be a more focused attitude on the task at hand," he added. Post-Olympic blahs Gaines also noted that many swimmers struggle the year after the Olympics. They just finished a four-year cycle, so where is the motivation to start over again? "It just beats you up because mentally and physically you are focused on four straight years, and the post-Olympic year can beat some people up. The post-Olympics is a real thing for all athletes whether you're from China or the United States." On the positive side, he talked up the future of 10 to 15 young American male swimmers including Luca Urlando, the winner of the 200-butterfly and the only American man to win gold over the first five days. The championships end Sunday. "The women are already very good," Gaines added. Gaines said much of the problem is that USA Swimming has gone for a year without a leader. Tim Hinchey resigned as the CEO a year ago. He was replaced byChrissi Rawak,who stepped down after just a few days. "I do think changes need to be made, there needs to be a complete reset," Gaines said "But I don't think the sky is falling. But there needs to be some great leadership. Whoever they hire as CEO needs to be the leader that is sorely needed." __ AP sports:https://apnews.com/hub/sports

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August 02, 2025

Ex-Olympic champ Rowdy Gaines calls for changes at USA Swimming as team struggles in Singapore

Ex-Olympic champ Rowdy Gaines calls for changes at USA Swimming as team struggles in Singapore SINGAPORE (AP) — Rowdy Gaines, a three-time O...

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Langeliers hits 2-run HR as A's score 4 in 1st inning, beat Diamondbacks 5-1

Langeliers hits 2-run HR as A's score 4 in 1st inning, beat Diamondbacks 5-1

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Shea Langeliers hit a two-run homer in a four-run first inning and the Athletics beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-1 on Friday night. Brent Rooker had a sacrifice fly,Langeliers followed with his 19th home runand Carlos Cortez added a two-out RBI single as the A's built a 4-0 lead against Anthony DeSclafani. Rooker singled and scored on Tyler Soderstrom's second double of the game to make it 5-0 in the fourth. Jacob Lopez (4-6) gave up five hits in five scoreless innings for the Athletics, who have won three straight and seven of their last eight. Luis Morales allowed a run in two innings in his major league debut. Elvis Alvarado and Sean Newcomb each pitched a scoreless inning to close it out. Langeliers led the way with three of the Athletics' 11 hits. Corbin Carroll's sacrifice fly drove in Jose Herrera, who singled before advancing to third on Ketel Marte's ground-rule double in the seventh to get Arizona on the scoreboard. DeSclafani (1-2) gave up four runs and five hits in 2 1/3 innings in his second start. Jake Woodford allowed one run and five hits in 2 1/3 innings as the Diamondbacks lost their sixth straight. Key moment Langeliers hit the first pitch he saw from DeSclafani 376 feet out to left at 100.4 mph. Key stat Arizona's 4.59 ERA is 25th out of 30 teams while the Athletics' 5.03 is 28th. Up next Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (7-12, 5.60 ERA) starts Saturday opposite Athletics RHP J.T. Ginn (2-2, 3.89). ___ AP MLB:https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

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August 02, 2025

Langeliers hits 2-run HR as A's score 4 in 1st inning, beat Diamondbacks 5-1

Langeliers hits 2-run HR as A's score 4 in 1st inning, beat Diamondbacks 5-1 WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Shea Langeliers hit a two-ru...

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A day in the life, in photos, of one family's search for food in Gaza

A day in the life, in photos, of one family's search for food in Gaza

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) —The Sobh family lives in a seaside refugee campwest of Gaza City after being displaced multiple times during the war between Israel and Hamas. The family of eight spends its days searching for food and water. ___ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

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August 01, 2025

A day in the life, in photos, of one family's search for food in Gaza

A day in the life, in photos, of one family's search for food in Gaza DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) —The Sobh family lives in a seaside...

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Appeals court keeps in place restrictions on immigration stops in L.A. based on language, job

Appeals court keeps in place restrictions on immigration stops in L.A. based on language, job

LOS ANGELES — An appeals court on Friday kept in place aLos Angeles federal judge's ruling thatbars immigration agents from using a person's spoken language or job, like day laborer, as the sole pretext to detain people. The 9th U.S. Court of Appeals in its ruling said that there seemed to be one issue with U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong's temporary restraining order, but it did not overturn it as the government sought. The appeals court said that one part of the July 11 temporary restraining order did appear to be vague. "Defendants, however, are not likely to succeed on their remaining arguments," the court ruled, referring to the U.S. government. Frimpong, a judge at the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles, issued the temporary restraining order after a lawsuit was filed by people who claimed they were detained by immigration officers without good reason. Three people were waiting at a bus stop for jobs when they were detained by immigration officials, and two others are U.S. citizens who claim they were stopped and aggressively questioned despite telling agents they were citizens. Other organizations, including the United Farm Workers, also sued. Frimpong wrote in the temporary restraining order ruling that the people suing were "likely to succeed in proving that the federal government is indeed conducting roving patrols without reasonable suspicion and denying access to lawyers." The July 11 restraining order bars the detention of people unless the officer or agent "has reasonable suspicion that the person to be stopped is within the United States in violation of U.S. immigration law." It says they may not base that suspicion solely on a person's apparent race or ethnicity; the fact that they're speaking Spanish or English with an accent; their presence at a particular location like a bus stop or a day laborer pickup site; or the type of work one does. Los Angeles has been targeted by the Trump administration for immigration raids that the city's mayor has decried as a campaign to terrorize residents. The lawsuit that led to the temporary restraining order was filed against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and others. Kyle Harvick, the deputy incident commander for the government's immigration action in Los Angeles, said that "certain types of businesses, including carwashes" were chosen by immigration agents "because past experiences have demonstrated that illegal aliens utilize and seek work at these locations," according to the appeals court ruling. The appeals court found that "the four enumerated factors at issue — apparent race or ethnicity, speaking Spanish or speaking English with an accent, particular location, and type of work, even when considered together — describe only a broad profile and 'do not demonstrate reasonable suspicion for any particular stop.'" The appeals court panel said that the government did not dispute constitutional issues when trying to get the temporary restraining order stayed. "They did not meaningfully dispute the district court's conclusion that sole reliance on the four enumerated factors, alone or in combination, does not satisfy the constitutional requirement of reasonable suspicion," the appeals court panel wrote. Mark Rosenbaum, senior special counsel for strategic litigation at Public Counsel, which is among the groups representing the people who sued, said Friday that the actions by immigration agents in the Los Angeles operation were unconstitutional. "Today's ruling sends a powerful message: the government cannot excuse illegal conduct by relying on racial profiling as a tool of immigration enforcement," Rosenbaum said. "These raids were unconstitutional, unsupported by evidence, and rooted in fear and harmful stereotypes, not public safety." The appeals court did find that part of Frimpong's temporary order was vague, relating to "except as permitted by law" in the clause about detaining people based on the four factors of race, speaking Spanish, a location or type of work. But it otherwise denied the government's motion for a stay. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat, called the appeals court ruling a victory. "Today is a victory for the rule of law and for the City of Los Angeles," shesaid in a statement."The Temporary Restraining Order that has been protecting our communities from immigration agents using racial profiling and other illegal tactics when conducting their cruel and aggressive enforcement raids and sweeps will remain in place for now." The immigration raids launched in Los Angeles in June resulted inlarge protests in the city, some of which turned violent. The Trump administration sent National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles in a move that was condemned by Bass, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and others. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Friday about the appeals court ruling.

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August 01, 2025

Appeals court keeps in place restrictions on immigration stops in L.A. based on language, job

Appeals court keeps in place restrictions on immigration stops in L.A. based on language, job LOS ANGELES — An appeals court on Friday kept ...

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