After a three-month-long investigation, Columbia Bible College’s (CBC) women’s basketball team is facing repercussions from the Canadian Pacific West Conference (PACWEST) for allegedly abusing a trans-identifying opponent in October 2024.
Harriette Mackenzie, a trans-identifying athlete who plays basketball for Vancouver Island University (VIU), claims he was targeted by the entire CBC team. OutKick reports that Mackenzie is the team’s “leader in points, rebounds, and blocks and is the tallest player on the team.”
While going for an offensive rebound, Mackenzie was grabbed and thrown onto the court by a player for CBC. This action constituted a flagrant foul. Even though fouls like this occur in competitive basketball regularly, Mackenzie claims this was a deliberate “support foul” due to his trans-identifying status.
The trans-identifying athlete also claimed CBC Head Coach Taylor Claggett applauded her team once the foul occurred. The Associated Press reports that Claggett has said that Mackenzie shouldn’t be competing against women.
According to Abbotsford News, several VIU players took to social media to express their frustration with the conference for not doing anything about the foul and overall treatment of Mackenzie by CBC.
In a letter written by CBC’s players, the claims of Mackenzie and his VIU teammates were denounced. CBC has received unwarranted backlash, according to the letter:
“We acknowledge that this situation is complicated and can evoke many different emotions and responses. However, the derogatory messages that have been directed at our coach and team as a result of their activity on social media have taken an emotional toll. Our coach and organization have had to disable comment sections in response to the backlash resulting from the accusations.”
On January 8, VIU announced it will forego any upcoming games against CBC for the rest of the season.
Almost a month later, PACWEST suspended Coach Claggett from coaching in the team’s provincial tournament. Moreover, CBC will not be allowed to host the tournament as a result of the decision.
The college issued the following statement regarding the conference’s decision:
“PACWEST has publicly stated that it has concluded its investigation. CBC is deeply disappointed with PACWEST’s decision. We do not believe that a proper process was followed or that the results were fair. As a result, we are taking steps to have PACWEST’s decision reviewed. We will not be commenting further at this time.”
This decision comes nearly a week after President Trump signed an Executive Order to keep men out of women’s sports. With CBC and VIU being Canadian schools, there are no restrictions on trans-identifying athletes in Canada.
