Women's basketball players from Columbia Bible College (CBC) in British Columbia, Canada, have signed a letter responding to their opposing team refusing to play against CBC over allegations of mistreatment of transgender players.
Vancouver Island University (VIU) announced on Thursday that it will be closed this weekend following an incident in which a CBC coach allegedly treated a transgender player in a violation of the coaches' policy during the teams' previous game in October. announced that they will not play the two games against CBC. Code of Ethics. VIU asked its conference, the Pacific Western Athletic Association (PACWEST), not to penalize teams for not participating in games due to the nature of the situation.
VIU transgender athlete Harriet McKenzie released a public statement alleging abusive behavior by CBC coaches and players.
A letter from CBC players obtained by FOX News Digital accuses VIU's team of making “personal attacks,” “defamatory comments” and “comments inciting violence” against the coach.
“Videos and letters posted by members of the VIU women's basketball team over the past three months are in direct violation of multiple rules listed in Article 17.2 of the manual. ”, “defamatory comments” and “lack of respect for others”, which criticized “PACWEST” and led to “comments inciting violence and hatred” directed at our coach.” says the letter.
“Any allegations made by VIU players regarding our team and coaches should have been communicated directly only to PACWEST officials and should not have been publicly uploaded to social media.”
The letter even called VIU players' statements “misinformation.”
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“The attacks on Coach Claggett's character and the character of our team over the past three months have been based on misinformation and aspects of a complex scenario,” it read.
Posted by Mackenzie video On Oct. 30, the player posted on his Instagram page that Columbia Bible head coach Taylor Claggett “cornered a member of the athletic staff and yelled abuse at him, saying I shouldn't be allowed to play.” insisted.
McKenzie said he was also intentionally fouled by a Columbia Bible player and was thrown to the ground.
“I couldn't see the play on the ball and got chucked to the ground with both hands on number 13. At that moment, I saw head coach Clagett clapping and cheering me on,” the trans athlete said.
McKenzie led the Mariners to the 2022-23 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association national championship. This season, the athlete ranks second in PACWEST in scoring with 16.1 points per game and third in rebounding with 9.4 points per game as VIU is 11-1 in the conference. McKenzie is second in the conference with a shooting percentage of 49.7%.
“I believe all transgender people should participate in sports, but this is especially upsetting for me because I play at a huge biological disadvantage and Because they're being forced to,” McKenzie said in the video. “I've never experienced male puberty. I've only experienced female puberty. And since I don't have ovaries or testicles, I have no way of making testosterone at all.”
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The CBC players' letter also alleges that the VIU team violated standard procedures for canceling games and that PACWEST is not holding VIU to proper standards.
“In the past, if a team refused to participate in and travel to a scheduled game, that team received zero points in the scoring. By postponing this weekend's game, PACWEST is following standard operating procedures. “This is contradictory. Our team has not been provided with a clear rationale to justify the deviation from normal procedures,” the letter said.
“Additionally, Article 13, Section 9.1.1 provides that if a team is unable to perform a scheduled game, the coach or athletic director shall contact the opposing athletic director and “indicate the reason why the scheduled commitment cannot be fulfilled.'' ” is stipulated. To our knowledge, this requirement has not been met. ”
CBC players who have remained silent until now believe they can no longer do so.
“Up until now, we have remained silent. We have spent the past several months paying tribute to PacWest and VIU by staying off social media and voicing our concerns through official channels. VIU “The women's basketball team did not share the same respect for PacWest,” or appearances on CBC, and has communicated primarily through social media,” the letter said.
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“Their actions have paid off in the form of their response to this weekend's refusal to play. We want our voices to be heard in this conversation and the respect we have shown throughout this process. I am writing this letter so as not to be misunderstood as being passive.
Since June 2017, discrimination against gender identity or gender identity expression is expressly prohibited everywhere in Canada within the Canadian Human Rights Act, Equal Opportunities and/or Anti-Discrimination Legislation. This law protects the participation of all trans athletes in women's and girls' sports.
In the United States, President-elect Trump has vowed to ban transgender athletes from participating in women's and women's sports. President Trump has also repeatedly indicated that Canada will join the United States as the 51st state.
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