By Canadian Press

B.C. trans basketball player speaks out about verbal, physical mistreatment

Nov 1, 2024 | 7:52 AM

A university basketball star on Vancouver Island is speaking out about the treatment she’s received as a transgender athlete.

Vancouver Island University forward Harriette Mackenzie took to social media to detail what happened during and after a pair of home games against Canadian Bible College last weekend.

The six-foot-two forward says in a video that she was physically targeted by her opponents, that the visiting team’s coach, Taylor Claggett, went on a “tirade” about how Mackenzie shouldn’t be allowed to play, and that a social media account linked to Claggett posted anti-trans messages after Friday’s game in Nanaimo, B.C.

Canadian Bible College, an evangelical Mennonite bible college located in Abbotsford, B.C., issued a statement late Thursday saying it feels Mackenzie’s video “does not accurately represent all the events that took place” and that Claggett was “speaking out for the safety of her players like any good coach would do.”

Mackenzie says the treatment was “nothing new,” and that she has been “outed and attacked” by players, coaches and fans across her basketball career, with people attributing her success to being transgender instead of hard work.

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Mackenzie says she’s proud of her story and that queer, trans and nonbinary people belong in sport.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2024.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press