Aces won't say why mascot dumped popcorn on Valkyries star's family

The sister of Golden State Valkyries star Gabby Williams took to social media after Friday night's win to allege the Las Vegas Aces knew their mascot's popcorn stunt was happening in the family and friends section.

During Game 3 on Friday night, the Aces' jackrabbit mascot Bucket$ went into the stands during a timeout and dumped popcorn on a section of Valkyries fans. According to a post on X , the Aces called this the "unlucky row" of the game. A video on TikTok didn't catch the actual moment the popcorn was dumped on fans but did show the aftermath. Bucket$ is seen swinging the emptied bag of popcorn over his head with a spotlight on him, celebrating the prank. The video concludes with a Valkyries fan who had popcorn dumped on them arguing with a person in a white suit.

That person was Kayla Williams, the older sister of Golden State star Gabby. Kayla Williams played collegiately at the University of Nevada at Reno, with Gabby citing her sister as her own inspiration to play basketball. Kayla Williams attended Friday night's game with her daughter and, in a reply to the video when it was shared on X on Saturday, had multiple concerns about the Aces' stunt.

"My daughter has a corn allergy and her scalp and eyes immediately started burning and itching. So honestly it was beyond throwing popcorn," Kayla Williams wrote on X . She added the section "has been the visiting team family and friends section since 2018. To say they didn't know what they were doing is a choice."

The Aces did not respond to SFGATE's multiple requests for comment on Monday.

Kayla Williams referenced the incident with a quip shortly after the Valkyries beat the Aces to finish off a series sweep: "Now that we showed yall how to sweep, come sweep up the popcorn you dumped on the GSV family section." She also directly addressed why she was so upset at the end of the video.

"I appreciate yall. We're good. Our other family n friends in that row are good. We're in the finals. This was unfortunate truly," Williams wrote on Saturday. "But GSV is in the finals as a second year team. I needed to make sure people knew this wasn't just me crashing out as much as that girl made it look."

Using popcorn for an in-arena gag is not uncommon in basketball circles - for example, Chicago Bulls mascot Benny the Bull throws popcorn frequently. It's why some on social media thought Williams had to know this was a possibility. But in response to another fan , she said she has attended her sister's games in these seats ever since the Aces moved to Las Vegas in 2018 and, on the popcorn stunt in particular, had "NEVER EVER seen this happen."

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