B737 MAX 9 Captain reported unusual stiff flight control movement when performing the flight control check on the ground after engine start. The Captain refused the aircraft for flight.

Narrative

We pushed back from gate A; the tug was disconnected and engine #2 was started. After ground crew was disconnected we performed our after start checks. During the flight control check the operation of the elevators and ailerons did not feel correct. There was a significant grab/sticking in the movement of the controls. I had the first officer operate the controls to verify what I was feeling. I had recently heard of this happening; specifically on the Max aircraft. As a crew; we made the decision; it was not safe to fly. We called maintenance frequency and said we are returning to the gate. We were immediately met with pushback and told; 'this is not convenient'. That statement was not safe; caring or dependable. After parked back at the gate; the aircraft technician met us. We told her what we experienced and she immediately began saying what we felt was normal. Neither the first officer or I had experienced this flight control issue before. I explained that I had recently heard several pilots reporting this same issue and it is a known issue and there is a known fix. She had no interest in what we had to say and she repeated numerous times it was normal. We did not agree. I made a call to Maintenance Control and Maintenance Control said this is a known issue and this aircraft needs to be fixed. I went back to the flight deck to check in with the technicians. They proceeded to push for us to fly the aircraft and said all was normal. I stated I called Maintenance Control and they agreed that this is not normal and it needed to be fixed. She pushed again for us to take the aircraft. I said I was not comfortable taking it. She got mad; defensive and very rude and stormed off of the aircraft. She was extremely un professional in front of a plane full of passengers and very rude to me. This was a safety concern and she pushed us to continue. We swapped to a different aircraft; also a max 9. We did the control check on it and they operated correctly.