Like OutKick reported on ThursdayThe Vancouver Island University women’s basketball team refused to play against PACWEST conference opponent Columbia Bible College, arguing that the Christian school created an unsafe environment because VIU has a transgender player.
Vancouver Island released a statement saying the players do not feel safe playing at Columbia Bible College.
“Intimidation, intimidation and discrimination have no place in athletics,” the statement said. according to Fox News. “VIU fully supports our student-athletes and affirms the right of all athletes to compete in an environment that prioritizes their safety and well-being.”
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Columbia Bible College denied the accusation. (iStock)
CBC immediately denied allegations that they were creating an unsafe environment, responding by saying they had put in place additional security measures for the games against VIU.
The allegations of “harassment, intimidation and discrimination” stem from multiple incidents in late October, when the two teams played each other for the first time this season.
Transgender Vancouver Island player Harriette Mackenzie said in an Instagram video that the CBC coach, Taylor Clagett, went on a “tirade” at a VIU staffer and complained that the team had a man on the women’s basketball team.
Mackenzie, who leads VIU in points, rebounds and blocks and is the team’s tallest player, further said CBC players attempted to injure the transgender athlete with purposeful flagrant fouls.
Columbia Bible College players wrote a letter denying the allegations against their team and head coach.
The Christian school players released their own statement, signed by each player, defending their head coach and denying Mackenzie and VIU’s allegations.
“Coach Claggett has repeatedly demonstrated respect for all athletes from diverse backgrounds throughout her career as a youth and college coach. We have the privilege of communicating with Coach Claggett on a daily basis and know that the concerns she has expressed are rooted in a concern for the safety of her team,” said the statement sent to OutKick.
“The attack on Coach Claggett’s character and the character of our team over the past three months is based on misinformation and one side of a complicated scenario.”
Normally in this situation, these games would count as losses for Vancouver Island, the #5 team in the CCAA. However, PACWEST decided to simply postpone those games for the time being, something that Columbia Bible College said represented a double standard.
General view of the rim and nets during a college basketball game between Villanova Wildcats and Providence Friars on March 2, 2024 at Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, RI. (M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“In the past, when a team declined to participate and travel to a scheduled game, they were awarded 0 points in the standings. By postponing this weekend’s games, PacWest has contradicted standard operating procedure. No clear reason has been given to our team to justify this deviation from normal procedures,” the statement said.
It seems clear that Coach Claggett does not believe that biological males, like Mackenzie, should compete in women’s sports. That is the majority opinion of most American citizens, although Canada tends to lean more to the left than the United States, so there may be fewer citizens in the neighboring country who hold this common sense belief.
But the picture painted by the CBC players is not much different from the one often seen in American sports, when women stand up for themselves and their sport and demand that biological males compete against other males and not females. They face intimidation and calls for ‘intolerance’ because they simply want fair competition.
It is a shame that the players and the coach have to deal with ‘derogatory messages’ because of their position, but that is the reality. And, as CBC noted, PACWEST appeared to show favoritism toward the VIU, likely because the conference fears backlash from the trans mafia if they don’t meet their demands.
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This is how these people often get their way. They use bullying tactics to silence opponents. But the Columbia Bible College players decided not to be quiet. Good for them.
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