The WBNA’s Seattle Storm fined its own co-owner, Celeste Keaton, and suspended her from attending the next five home games after Keaton confronted and cursed at teenage fans of a visiting team’s player on Tuesday. The fans cheered Indiana Fever’s Sophie Cunningham with a courtside sign reading, “Thank you, Sophie, for speaking up for girls.” Cunningham said last week, “young girls in sport … shouldn’t have to go against biological men.” For one owner of a female sports team, even the idea of teenage girls endorsing this message was too much to handle.

“We hadn’t said anything to anyone else, we were being super respectful, we were just holding our signs and cheering for both teams, and this lady comes up to us,” one of the girls told independent journalist Brandi Kruse. The girls did not know Keaton, nor did they learn that she was a co-owner of the Seattle Storm until later.

Keaton proceeded to berate the girls, calling them “f****** insane” for their pro-woman signs. “I’ve never been yelled at like that,” the girl said. “I mean, I’ve had people hate me on the internet, but like it doesn’t really affect me as much because it’s just people online. But that just took me by surprise because I thought she was going to be nice and then she starts like screaming at us and cussing at us.”

Kruse, who was present, noted that one of the girls held in her emotions until halftime, when she broke out in “sobbing.”

The internet generation understands that dehumanizing cruelty is relatively easy when directed against an impersonal screen from the relative anonymity of a keyboard, but it is much more difficult when confronting someone face-to-face. The internet generation might not understand the reason behind this: the conscience God implanted in each person innately recognizes the inherent dignity of the image of God in others.

But Keaton’s tirade was not deterred by the girls’ personal proximity. Nor was she deterred by Climate Pledge Arena’s official prohibition on abusive or obscene language. Kruse pressed security to confront the woman, saying later, “Had this been any other fan under any other circumstances who swore at and called some teenage girls ‘f****** insane’ until they cried, they would’ve been ejected.”

“Truly embarrassing of the co-owner,” Cunningham responded. “Unfortunately shows the type of leader she is.”

Unfortunately, Keaton was not alone in venting her spite on the girls, although her disgraceful display and prominent position surely encouraged similar behavior from others. Two adult women sitting nearby (“grown-up” seems inapt, given their behavior) tried to trip the girls as they walked past. In an unintentional self-own, an adult man who confronted the teen girls after the game called for arena staff to “take the trash out.” Even the Storm players themselves made thumbs-down gestures at the girls. What are they, in middle school?

The intimidation and mockery did have its effect. “The girls put their signs away because of what happened with Celeste, and they just felt so scared and uncomfortable, they decided not to hold them anymore,” Kruse recorded. Although the girls could hide their signs, they could not hide their shirts, which displayed the chromosome pairs “XX” and “XY” with a solid line between them. After that, biology itself received its own share of abuse and scorn.

Curious readers may wonder how two teens drew so much attention for a fairly innocuous sign, and how reporter Brandi Kruse was perfectly positioned to cover it all. Such curiosity would often go unsatisfied, but on this occasion, there is a ready answer. Kruse “helped organize the event and went into the game to accompany the girls during portions of the night,” according to Outkick Sports. That would explain how two teenagers could afford courtside seats.

In other words, the teenage girls were the focus of a deliberately planned demonstration to show support for Cunningham and her stand for women’s sports in the very eye of the Storm. Kruse wore three hats, playing the role of Jim Cantore, his intrepid cameraman, and — if necessary — a safety protective umbrella.

The Seattle Storm acknowledged that it was made aware of the demonstration beforehand and was “tracking it closely.” Prior knowledge of the demonstration appears to be widespread, as other attendees held counter-signs. Video footage of the teens shows another woman sitting courtside, one seat removed from them, with a sign that read, “No hate in these United States.”

Such prior knowledge only makes Keaton’s outburst so much more inexcusable. In this instance, “the heat of the moment” provides no defense. Others knew, disagreed, and still kept a civil tongue.

Keaton’s outburst also revealed something deeper. Most adults would pay very little heed to the opinions of a random teenager. They usually have more education and experience, so adults are most likely to respond, “they’ll learn,” or “dumb kids” — if they pay any attention at all. On rare occasions, adults might feel the need to refute a teen’s argument (and more so if the teen is one they know personally). But adults should never have to scream and curse at a teen merely for holding a different opinion. Doing so betrays astonishing insecurity.

This insecurity becomes even more astonishing when considering the message that threatened it. There is nothing offensive about teen girls praising a female athlete for “standing up for girls.” Yet Keaton’s foul language suggests that the teen’s sign triggered her on an emotional level.

Why would “standing up for girls” enrage a part-owner of a women’s basketball team?

Of course, the sign cannot be divorced from its context. The “standing up for girls” in question was Sophie Cunningham’s assertion that “truth” requires a recognition of the biological differences between men and women, so as to protect women in sports and locker rooms. This message directly contradicts the assertion of transgender ideology, which claims that male and female bodies are interchangeable. Cunningham’s message threatens this assertion because what she said is self-evidently true, while transgender ideology is built upon a self-evident fiction.

Thus, what triggered Keaton was not the girls’ inoffensive sign. It was her own allegiance to an ideology so false that the pretense can only be maintained by stifling all dissent. Her insecurity was caused by the insecurity of the ideology. Transgenderism stands on a foundation so rickety that even the faith of adults can be shaken by four words on a teenager’s sign. That’s an ideology so insecure it can get a co-owner suspended for five games by her own team.

Seattle Storm majority owner Ginny Gilder issued a formal apology Wednesday. “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.”

In this statement, Gilder at least responds to the team’s financial incentives. For years (decades?), the WNBA has complained about having less sponsorship money and fewer fans than men’s basketball. If the WNBA wants more recognition, it should start by celebrating every fan who chooses to watch or attend — as Gilder did — not berating them over self-destructive ideological litmus tests — as Keaton did.

In fact, sports often find the greatest following when they avoid politics altogether, since fans often view sports as a temporary escape from politics. The Indiana Fever recognizes this same reality. So, when head coach Stephanie White was asked at a press conference about a rally organized to support Cunningham’s stand, a PR representative cut in, “Neither our organization nor Sophie had any knowledge of this demonstration and no contact with its organizers.” The representative said the Fever is united around winning games and building its fan base before directing reporters back to basketball.

That PR representative deserves a big thank you, because women’s basketball is brutal enough without politics intruding.

Alas, on the issue of women’s sports, transgender ideology has caused politics to intrude to the point that female athletes must at least stand up for themselves, as Cunningham has done. And athletes courageous enough to do so deserve the support of fans courageous enough to join them. “Bravo to those girls for standing up for what they believe,” Cunningham responded. “You’ll be hearing from me soon.”