Yes yes, we've heard it all before. "but this is such a small thing, using the word persecute really?" but this is how it starts. it's a snowball effect. the people who want trans people gone in general are starting with this, this seemingly "small" way of getting people on their side, of being anti-trans. it will only continue, it will only get worse. and that's beyond the fact there is no reputable evidence that trans people have any sort of advantage in sports, in fact the opposite - trans athletes on average perform worse than cis athletes. but even if that weren't true, they're just people, doing the thing they love, and we never claim someone like michael phelps shouldn't compete despite having an actual, verifiable biological advantage.