On Tuesday night, a small group of weirdos held an anti-trans rally outside of the Seattle Storm's home arena. The occasion for their gathering was a game against the Indiana Fever and bench player Sophie Cunningham, who had recently participated in an ESPN profile where she said she wants to "protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn't have to go against biological men."

The rally seems like it was a dud, but the organizers got more of the attention they were after inside the arena. Sitting courtside during the game were two teen girls holding signs that read "Thank you Sophie for speaking up for girls," and "We love you Sophie." They were both wearing shirts from an apparel brand that donates money to anti-trans organizations. After the game, the two girls made a video with anti-trans agitator Brandi Kruse, in which they claimed they were told off in the arena by Storm minority owner Celeste Keaton. They said that Keaton told them they were "fucking insane."

The Storm reacted to this accusation first by apologizing for Keaton's actions, and then the WNBA fined and banned her from the team's next five home games. The team's statement read:

We are aware one of our co-owners made comments to two fans in attendance at last night’s game. We apologize that this happened. Everyone who attends a Storm game deserves to feel welcome, and we remain committed to creating an inclusive environment where every fan is treated with respect.

Despite everyone involved in this incident reaching for platitudes and euphemism, there's no getting around the facts: The WNBA suspended a team co-owner for not welcoming bigots into her workplace. The bigots in question would certainly argue against that description, and point to the fact that there's nothing outwardly hateful about wearing a goofy shirt and holding up a sign thanking Sophie Cunningham. Anyone with a brain and a familiarity with the phrase "All lives matter" understands how cynical and empty that argument is.

An anti-trans organization put those girls in courtside seats for the sole purpose of provoking outrage. Strip away the pleasant veneer they tried to put on this effort, and you're left with a group of people whose tactics aren't meaningfully different from those deployed by, say, the Westboro Baptist Church. Westboro agitators shouted slurs so they might get punched in the face and win a lawsuit; these agitators also seek to self-victimize for the sake of garnering attention and advancing their political agenda. The more people like this that are allowed to present themselves as "protectors" of women's sports, the easier it is for them to make dehumanizing language like "biological males" part of the conversation. The more Cunningham is allowed to insist, "Everyone is welcome at my table," the less likely it is that anyone will ask her to explain what exactly "young girls in a locker room" need to be protected from.

There's no need to participate in any of this. The people who orchestrated Tuesday night's provocation are fucking insane, and it's fine to say so.