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The trolling of WNBA games with sex toys is Skibidi brainrot writ large. It's replaced meaning …

Published

5 months ago

August 9, 2025

The trolling of WNBA games with sex toys is Skibidi brainrot writ large. It's replaced meaning ...

The first dildo dropped from the sky like a glitch in the matrix. For anyone tuned in to the 29 July game between the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries, the initial reaction was disbelief. In a world where feeds are increasingly AI-generated and algorithmically tuned for confusion, the boundaries between real and unreal have softened into clay. Our senses, once reliable, now compete with simulation. What does it mean when dildos become airborne at WNBA games? Not once, not twice, but repeatedly? Protest? Performance art? Or just another malformed blip in the automated dreamscape we scroll through daily?

Two men have been arrested thus far in these grotesque affronts. One was 18, the other 23, part of Gen Z, the prime consumer of debased meme culture. Authorities have not identified suspects in the most recent two dildo-throwing incidents. However, Delbert Carver, a 23-year-old man, was arrested in connection with the first incident during a WNBA game in Atlanta. According to ESPN, Carver may face charges of disorderly conduct, public indecency or indecent exposure and criminal trespass. In an affidavit, he allegedly admitted that the act was “supposed to be a joke” and intended “to go viral”.

When dildos become airborne at WNBA games more than once, the meaning shifts. It reveals the collapse of coherence under TikTok’s attention economy. These aren’t protests or insults that make a point. They’re spectacles. The goal is to provoke. In a memetic landscape poisoned by irony, absurdity is the point. The dildo isn’t symbolic. Its function is noise.

Philosopher Guy Debord would be shocked at how on the nose we have become. His work argued we live in a “society of the spectacle,” where life is mediated through image, and authenticity is replaced by performance. Today, women’s sports are doubly mediated, first through the lens of athletic competition, then through the social gaze that still questions their legitimacy. Laura Mulvey’s theory of the “male gaze” further sharpens this: Women, particularly in visual media, are often positioned not as agents but as objects. In this context, female athletes are not merely participants in a game. They’re props in someone else’s viral moment. The dildo becomes mise-en-scène.

The memeification of rebellion

But this isn’t just theoretical. It’s real. So is the disrespect. The dildo is a weaponized farce. It’s thrown not just to interrupt but to dominate the narrative, to remind players that their gender, their careers and their stage remain vulnerable to mockery. It stops the game. Hijacks it, even. And reasserts the notion, violent and comical, that women’s achievements exist on borrowed time within a culture still conditioned to belittle them.

So far, the suspects in these cases are part of Gen Z, a generation raised in and by the internet. Their actions cannot be dismissed as isolated provocations. They must be contextualized within TikTok’s cultural logic, or worse, the absurdist ethos of “Skibidi Toilet”. If you are a normally functioning adult with a job, you might ask, “What is Skibidi Toilet?” Skibidi Toilet is a viral animated web series featuring surreal, low-resolution battles between human heads protruding from toilets and humanoid characters with surveillance equipment for heads. Glitchy visuals, overstimulating pacing, and meme loops create a vibe without meaning.

But to understand these trolls’ intentions, and see the direction society is headed, we must contextualize them within TikTok’s cultural logic. The garish green dildo mirrors the surreal, low-fi, uncanny aesthetic of Skibidi Toilet or any number of algorithm-fueled meme cycles. The dildo is an anti-symbol. Its meaning is its absurdity. Skibidi brainrot encapsulates a generation fluent in irony but starved for meaning. The dildo is funny not because it says something, but because it says nothing. It’s the irrational object breaking into a space of rationality.

Sophie Cunningham of the Indiana Fever goes to the basket against the Dallas Wings

This kind of hyper-chaotic media serves as both entertainment and an ambient worldview for young men raised online. Their minds normalize prank-as-expression. In this context, throwing a dildo on to the court during a WNBA game isn’t just an act of crude rebellion. It sadly mirrors the Skibidi Toilet ethos: low-effort disruption cloaked in irony, where the gesture is meant to be meaningless and provocative at once. As traditional signifiers of rebellion (punk, political protest, counterculture) fade or fragment in the digital noise, young men are absorbing frameworks of meaninglessness, where “funny = power” and shock is its own reward.

Furthering the chronically online element of all this, in the last two days, a crypto memecoin group has claimed credit for the recent dildo-throwing incidents at WNBA games, reframing what seemed like rogue trolling as a deliberate guerrilla marketing stunt. The group, which openly mocks the league and brags about not watching women’s sports, celebrated the act online as a victory. If true, this spectacle is engineered by people who understand that visibility matters more than meaning in an algorithm-driven culture.

This is how meme culture is rotting America: not from the inside, but from online. The internet’s lack of regulation is its greatest strength and its most dangerous flaw. It allows once-fringe ideologies and juvenile impulses to scale without resistance. Ideas that would have died in solitude or been challenged in a public square now find shelter in forums and meme loops, rewarded by engagement. In this new economy of attention, even humiliation has utility. We’re left with a culture where trolling becomes its own form of marketing.

From trolls to Trump: the end of shame

How did we arrive at this level of collective debasement? Despite living in an era of unprecedented digital access, over half of American adults (54%) read below a sixth-grade level, and 21% are considered illiterate as of 2022. This foundational deficit in literacy undermines a person’s ability to evaluate online messages critically. Thus, a generation raised on irony struggles to decode satire, or even manipulation. Back in 2013, 66% of fourth graders couldn’t read proficiently. It was a warning sign that today’s adults would fail to distinguish viral provocation from genuine meaning. Online, many young people now build identity from meme fragments, unconsciously mimicking behavior they don’t fully understand. Lacking media literacy, they become perfect vessels for cultural incoherence.

All of this really boils down to the death of shame within society. And it starts at the top. Donald Trump’s most enduring legacy isn’t a policy but a persona as the shameless troll who made humiliation a political strategy. His constant provocation and gleeful disdain for norms created a playbook both parties use now. Liberals respond with faux-moral outrage, conservatives with Nietzschean bravado, but the end result is the same: a culture addicted to performance, where shame is no longer a deterrent.

This logic has trickled down into every corner of public life through race, class, gender and especially online culture, where symbolic acts of ressentiment become viral currency. The dildo thrown at a women’s basketball game isn’t just a crude joke but a memeified act of humiliation. It doesn’t challenge power on any level, it just wants attention. And in a culture without shame, the humiliation sticks to the target, not the perpetrator. In this case, the WNBA players themselves.

The fact that these incidents have popped up simultaneously across the country, from New York to Atlanta to Chicago, shows that the lack of shame is collective, bipartisan and here to stay. This is where we are: everything is bait. We’ve collapsed the distinction between trolling and activism, and so we land – like the dildo itself – on the bottom of the floor, laughing, recording, retweeting, but never asking what it says about who we’ve become.

Sports

Oldani Named Week 1 MPSF Defensive Player of the Week – BYU Athletics – Official Athletics Website

Published

28 minutes ago

January 13, 2026

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Oldani had a match-high and career-high 10 digs in BYU’s season opener Friday night in Provo. He added another three digs on Saturday. Oldani also had five blocks over the two matches, as the Cougars started the season 2-0 for the fourth consecutive season.

Oldani is one of three transfers from Grand Canyon on this season’s BYU squad. He was a key contributor as a freshman last season for the Antelopes and has picked up where he left off with the Cougars.

Oldani and the No. 8 Cougars won in back-to-back sweeps last weekend over Saint Francis and have two more home matches this Friday and Saturday, as No. 10 UC San Diego visits the Smith Fieldhouse.

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BREAKING: Ahen Kim named head volleyball coach at Duke

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44 minutes ago

January 13, 2026

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Duke University hired American University volleyball head coach Ahen Kim to the same role on Jan. 12, 2026. Kim joins the Blue Devils after his best season, posting a 24-5 record and winning a Patriot League championship.

The Eagles went 64-25 during Kim’s three seasons as the head coach of the Eagles. His latest saw the Eagles clinch their 17th Patriot League title in program history and an NCAA Tournament berth.

American swept the conference awards in 2025, taking home all five honors on Nov. 17, 2025. This included a Barry Goldberg Coaching Staff of the Year award for Kim and his staff. Kim’s team went 15-1 in Patriot League play in 2025, only dropping the team’s first conference match to the Colgate Raiders on Sept. 19, 2025.

“We are incredibly grateful to Ahen for everything he has given to American University volleyball,” said American University Director of Athletics and Recreation JM Caparro in a statement. “His connection to this program runs deep…We wish him nothing but success in his next chapter.”

Duke went 5-26 in the 2025 season, finishing last in the Atlantic Coastal Conference’s standings. The Blue Devils have not won the conference since 2013. The head coaching position opened up when long-time head coach Jolene Nagel retired on Dec. 1, 2025 after 27 seasons with the team.

“I’m forever grateful to American University Volleyball and will cherish the time I’ve had coaching here both as an Assistant and as Head Coach,” Kim said in a statement. “It has been an honor to serve the program after Coach Barry, and I am extremely proud of the work by our student-athletes and staff to restore its competitive legacy.”

American will conduct a national search for its next volleyball coach.

This article was edited by Jack Stashower and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Avery Grossman.

sports@theeagleonline.com

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South’s Ellie Kleven named Alaska Gatorade Volleyball Player of the Year

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1 hour ago

January 13, 2026

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South Anchorage senior Ellie Kleven sets to the ball for a teammate during a match against Service High on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025 at South High. (Chris Bieri / ADN)

After leading the South Anchorage High volleyball team to a Cook Inlet Conference title and a dominant record of 41-5-1, senior Ellie Kleven this month became the seventh player in program history to be named Gatorade Alaska Volleyball Player of the Year.

“Winning this award means so much to me,” Kleven said. “I have always looked up to previous Gatorade Player of the Year winners and to be included in this group is really special.”

The elite setter is the second Wolverine to receive the award this decade, joining 2021-22 recipient Hanna Henrie, who was a standout outside hitter and led the program to its last state title.

“For a South athlete to receive this honor is incredibly rewarding for our coaches and players and something I hope future athletes will aspire to,” South head coach Julie Kleven said.

On the court, Ellie led the state with 1,196 assists and also recorded 434 digs, 121 service aces and 97 kills. Some of her other accolades include earning First Team All-Cook Inlet Conference and First Team All-State honors as well as receiving American Volleyball Coaches Association Honorable Mention All-American honors.

“Ellie has worked incredibly hard over the past four years and seeing her effort recognized in this way is truly special,” Julie said. “She is a player who gives 100 percent all of the time. Over the years she has also been so fortunate to have had excellent coaches and teammates that have contributed to her success. She is an elite athlete that is truly deserving of this honor.”

[‘It takes every single one of us’: South High’s volleyball success has been a collaborative effort at every level]

As Ellie’s mother and head coach, Julie couldn’t be prouder as this award recognizes a student-athlete for not only their feats of athleticism on the court, but also exceptional academic achievement and exemplary character displayed in and out of the gym.

South Anchorage head coach Julie Kleven talks to her team during a timeout from a match against Service High on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025 at South High. (Chris Bieri / ADN)

“I have watched her be humble and selfless through her entire volleyball career and these traits are a big part of what has made her such a great player, teammate and leader,” Julie said. “I have also witnessed her put the same level of commitment into her academics and community service.”

Ellie maintained an 3.71 grade point average and volunteered with multiple causes, including with Western Alaska typhoon relief, organizing a food and clothing drive for displaced families. She has also donated her time to community service initiatives through South’s National Honor Society chapter, including sock drives for those in need, putting together floral arrangements for seniors and making toys for cats at a local animal shelter.

“I’m incredibly honored to have even been considered for this award and grateful to my teammates and coaches who have made me the player I am today,” Ellie said after the honor was announced Friday. “My friends, family, and anyone I’ve ever been athletically involved with has played a part in this accomplishment and I couldn’t be more thankful to them.”

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Three From Men’s Volleyball Selected to FrogJump Preseason All-America First Team

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2 hours ago

January 13, 2026

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Springfield, Mass. – January 12, 2026 – Springfield College men’s volleyball seniors Dylan Mulvaney (Reston, Va.), Carter Durivage (East Greenbush, N.Y.) and Jake DesLauriers (Eastport, N.Y.) have all been named to the FrogJump Division III Preseason All-America First Team ahead of this week’s season opener in California.

A nationwide voting committee selected 20 student-athletes from across the country to the 2026 FrogJump Division III Preseason All-America Team, which recognizes the NCAA Division III men’s volleyball players projected to be the best in the nation during the upcoming year. Springfield was the lone institution to have three selections this fall as Messiah, NYU, Santa Cruz, Mount Union and Vassar all had two honorees.

The 14-member voting committee for this award consisted of 11 DIII Men’s Volleyball Head Coaches from across the nation and three members of the FrogJump coverage team. The 20 players receiving the most votes were named FrogJump Preseason All-Americans. The committee unanimously chose four players for preseason honors; Josh McLellan (Aurora), Alex Kagoro (Messiah), Ben Heise (Carthage), and Dylan Mulvaney (Springfield).

Mulvaney ranked second in the nation with 10.37 assists per set dishing out a total of 861 helpers and powered Springfield College to the second-best hitting percentage in the country at a .354 clip. He also registered 30 kills, 26 aces, 99 digs, 36 blocks and hit .418. In addition to his third straight All-America award, Mulvaney was tabbed as the FrogJump Volleyball Division III National Setter of the Year and as the Region I Player of the Year for the second time in his career.

DesLauriers made his transition from the baseball diamond to the volleyball court last season and made an immediate impact. He registered 204 kills (2.46 per set) and hit .359, which ranked 30th in Division III this year. DesLauriers also posted 40 aces and 116 digs (1.40 per set) and earned his first career AVCA All-America accolade in 2025.

Durivage powered Springfield’s offense with a team-best 221 kills (3.16 per set) and his .369 on the season. He also totaled 27 blocks and 81 digs. Durivage’s .369 hitting percentage ranked 25th nationally, while his 3.80 points per set ranked 64th in Division III a season ago as he earned his first nod to the AVCA All-America team in 2025.

Last season, these three student-athletes led Springfield to 25 wins and back to the NCAA Division III National Championship match for the first time since 2022.

Springfield will open its 2026 campaign as the top-ranked team in both the AVCA Division III National Poll and the FrogJump Volleyball Division III rankings. The Pride will take on Hope International and Concordia Irvine on Friday, January 16 before returning east for its Division III opener at Baruch on Friday, January 23.

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ODAC Athletes of the Week: Week 20

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2 hours ago

January 13, 2026

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The ODAC docket was busier over the past week with the return of swimming and the first matches of men’s volleyball joining basketball and wrestling as active sports. There were surprising – or eye-opening – results throughout with nationally-ranked upsets, inaugural program wins, and new conference records among the highlights.

Those earning ODAC Athlete of the Week awards for Week 20 include:

Most weeks this season, the following schedule will be used for releasing weekly awards winners when the sports below active:

Sundays: football
Mondays: baseball, basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, volleyball, wrestling
Tuesdays: cross country, single-discipline equestrian, indoor track & field, outdoor track & field
Wednesdays: golf

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Men’s Volleyball Sweeps EIVA Weekly Awards – Penn State

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3 hours ago

January 13, 2026

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State men’s volleyball swept the first conference awards of the season as Sean Harvey was named EIVA Offensive Player of the Week and Ryan Merk was selected as the Defensive Player of the Week. The Nittany Lions picked up the honors after opening the season with a four-set win over Mount Olive and a sweep over Manhattan at Rec Hall.

Harvey earned a weekly award from the conference for the first time after hitting .426 with 27 kills (3.86/set) over the two wins. He opened the season with 13 kills, three blocks, and five digs in the win over Mount Olive. The outside hitter followed that by hitting .667 with 14 kills, one block, one dig, and one ace in the victory over Manhattan

Merk led Penn State’s defensive effort that resulted in the opposition hitting just .158 over the two matches. He totaled 18 digs with nine in each match, giving him 2.57/set for the week. The redshirt senior libero also helped get the offense going with a 36-36 mark on serve receive. Merk is now a five-time EIVA Defensive Player of the Week honoree.

No. 13 Penn State is back at Rec Hall when it hosts St. Thomas Aquinas on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Nittany Lions then host No. 9 Lewis on Saturday at 7 p.m. Both matches will stream on B1G+.

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