Trans basketball player Harriette Mackenzie and her Vancouver Island University (VIU) women’s basketball team were eliminated in the first round of a major tournament on Wednesday.
The defeat brought an end to a controversial season for VIU and Mackenzie, who began her transition in kindergarten having never undergone a male puberty.
Mackenzie and VIU hit the headlines back in January when they refused to play Christian school Columbia Bible College (CBC) because of alleged abuse at a previous game.
Despite Mackenzie’s best efforts on Wednesday, she was unable to keep her school in the Canadian Conference Athletic Association tournament.
They were beaten 62-57 by Mohawk College in New Brunswick, despite Mackenzie putting up 20 points and 17 rebounds in a dominant performance. It means VIU have been dropped into the loser’s bracket.
Mackenzie, who is eligible to return for another college season, was recently named an All-Canadian for the second time in her college career.
Trans basketball player Harriette Mackenzie and her Vancouver Island University team lost
Mackenzie began her transition in kindergarten having never undergone a male puberty
She also helped VIU to a PACWEST Tournament victory over CBC earlier this month, winning tournament MVP honors.
The feud between VIU and CBC exploded back in January when VIU refused to play a pair of games against CBC because they claimed they didn’t feel safe enough to do so.
The two schools played on consecutive days back in October and it was alleged Mackenzie was subjected to both physical and verbal abuse.
In a video posted to Instagram on October 30, Mackenzie – who stands at 6ft 2 – accused CBC’s coach Taylor Claggett of applauding rough play on her.
Mackenzie also alleged that Claggett ‘corned’ a Vancouver Island staffer and insisted she shouldn’t be able to play women’s basketball during a ‘tirade’ after their first game.
The following morning, Mackenzie received a call from her upset coach who wanted to alert her to social media posts made by somebody close to Claggett.
The posts were fiercely critical of Mackenzie and said ‘keep women’s sports, women’s sports’, ‘complete joke’ and ‘make it make sense’.
Mackenzie also accused CBC of ‘trying to injure me’ during the second game between the two schools.
Mackenzie accused rival coach Taylor Claggett of abusing her during two games last October
In her Instagram post, she cited one clip of her being thrown to the floor by a CBC player and a second that appeared to show Claggett applauding the action on the sideline.
A CBC statement at the time said Claggett was ‘speaking out for the safety of her players like any good coach would do.’
Claggett also posted on Instagram that the allegations were ‘simply untrue to who I am and what I believe as a person, a coach and a leader.’
‘We stand in support of Taylor Claggett, and all our coaches, in expressing their legitimate concerns for the safety of our student-athletes,’ the school’s statement added.
The PACWEST suspended Claggett in early February, and CBC lost the chance to host the conference’s championships after an investigation.
