Mayyybe, but if any other pro appeared out of nowhere but their identity was divorced from all this gender stuff, do you think people would have been as objectionable?
Literally yes. Yes.
Like I said before if this were Fortnite I would 100% believe it. There is no ranked system in Fortnite and the esports scene is in its infancy. We see new rising stars every month.
OW is the opposite. Most high-level players in OW know each other in some capacity because that's how top 500 works. You are repeatedly matched against other top 500 players. Almost no one had ever played with her, there was never a confirmation of anyone playing with her, she had never been on a pro team. She literally came out of nowhere.
Her being female only adds fuel to the smoke because there are obviously very few female pros.
So basically there's a ton of reasons to speculate. Is it okay to harass her due to the suspicious circumstances? Absolutely not. Was there a ton of misogynistic people who jumped at the chance to attack a woman in gaming due to the legitimacy of the suspicions? Yes. Is it okay to believe her regardless of those circumstances? Yes, of course, and I did.
There were people who were labeling everyone who dared to question this a sexist or misogynist. That just ain't right.