A Christian college in Canada has responded to claims from a “transgender” athlete who said that players on their team were targeting him in basketball games.
To recap, Townhall covered how Harriette Mackenzie, a boy who thinks he is a “transgender woman” and plays on the girls’ basketball team at Vancouver Island University, published a video claiming that he has a "disadvantage” competing against women.
Harriette Mackenzie, a boy pretending to be a girl, plays on the girl’s basketball team at Vancouver Island University.
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 14, 2025
Mackenzie, who leads his school’s girls team in points, rebounds and blocks, is claiming that he is actually at a “competitive disadvantage” because he… pic.twitter.com/gfldWAc8yW
Furthermore, Mackenzie claimed that “she” has been targeted by female athletes she competes with against. Specifically, players at Columbia Bible College (CBC) and their coach, Taylor Clagett, during a series of games in October. As a result, Vancouver Island’s players signed a statement saying that they do not feel comfortable competing against CBC.
"All of us should be free to be ourselves and play the game we love in a supportive and safe environment, including queer and trans athletes," read the letter.
A video shared on X by the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) shows Mackenzie “manhandling” players on the CBC team.
🇨🇦 Collegiate male basketball player Declan “Harriette” MacKenzie, named PACWEST “female athlete of the year,” previously manhandled female opponents on the Columbia Bible College (CBC) women’s team. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/BfnfnW2g23
— ICONS (@icons_women) January 11, 2025
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This week, CBC responded to Mackenzie’s allegations.
"Coach Claggett has repeatedly shown respect for all athletes from many backgrounds throughout her career as a youth and college coach. We have the privilege of interacting with Coach Claggett on a daily basis and know that the concerns she has voiced are rooted in a care for the safety of her team," the statement, which was sent to OutKick, said.
"The attack on Coach Claggett’s character, and the character of our team, over the past three months has been based on misinformation and one side of a complicated scenario,” the statement, signed by the entire team, said.
Reportedly, in a normal situation, Vancouver Island’s refusal to compete against CBC would normally be considered a forfeit loss for their team. However, their conference decided to postpone their future games against CBC for the time being. CBC said that this represented a double-standard.
"In the past, when a team has refused to participate and travel to a scheduled game, they have received 0 points in the classification. By postponing the games this weekend, PacWest has contradicted the standard operating procedure. There has been no clear rationale provided to our team to justify this departure from normal procedures," the statement said.
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