A Canadian women’s college basketball conference championship game on Saturday night saw a transgender player score 21 points in victory and ultimately win tournament MVP.
Trans athlete Harriette Mackenzie led Vancouver Island University (VIU) to a 69-59 victory over Columbia Christian College (CBC) in the PACWEST Championship game. Mackenzie finished the game with 10 rebounds in addition to the athlete’s game-leading 21 points.
Mackenzie was then awarded conference tournament MVP in a ceremony after the game. It capped off a season in which the athlete punished competition on the court, leading the entire conference in scoring by a 62-point margin over the second-place score, and leveraged Canada’s anti-discrimination laws to bring punishment to CBC off the court.
Mackenzie’s tournament MVP honor and conference championship came after a season-long feud between the two teams, which the trans athlete was at the center of. Mackenzie was the conference’s player of the year in 2023.
The feud resulted in the suspension of CBC head coach Taylor Clagett, and CBC lost the rights to host the PACWEST championships, as Saturday’s game was supposed to be played on CBC’s own home court. Instead, because of sanctions placed on CBC over allegations made by Mackenzie, the game was played at Capilano University.
The feud started during an Oct. 25 game between the two teams, which VIU won 69-56 after Mackenzie scored a game-leading 19 points. Five days after that game on Oct. 30, the trans athlete posted an Instagram video alleging that Clagett “cornered one of our athletic staff and went on a tirade about how I shouldn’t be allowed to play.”
Mackenzie alleged she was also deliberately fouled to the ground by a CBC player.
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“I got two-hand chucked to the ground by No. 13 without a play on the ball in sight, then head coach Clagett can be seen applauding in support,” the trans athlete said.
In response, Clagett posted her own statement on Instagram, claiming that Mackenzie’s statements were inaccurate.
“My intention has nothing to do with a specific athlete, but instead, the safety of female athletes in their sport,” Claggett wrote.
VIU then submitted a formal complaint to the PACWEST, prompting an investigation against VIU. When the two teams were scheduled to play each other again in two games on Jan. 10 and 11, VIU refused to play due to the alleged incident from their first meetings.
“Intimidation, harassment, and discrimination have no place in athletics,” VIU said in a statement to Fox News Digital in January regarding the decision not to play. “VIU stands in full support of our student-athletes and affirms the right of all athletes to compete in an environment that prioritizes their safety and well-being.”
VIU even requested that the two forfeits not count as losses on the team’s record, which was granted by the PACWEST.
CBC provided a statement to Fox News Digital that weekend stating, “accusations that CBC, its coaches, players, and fans are a safety threat are simply untrue and misinformed.”
CBC players then condemned Mackenzie in a letter sent to Fox News Digital.
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CBC players blamed Mackenzie for “personal attacks,” “defamatory comments” and even “comments that incite violence,” against their coach.
“Videos and letters posted by members of the VIU women’s basketball team over the past three months have directly violated multiple rules stated in Article 17.2 of the manual. Various posts have included ‘personal attacks,’ ‘defamatory comments,’ ‘lack of respect towards the PACWEST,’ and led to ‘comments that incite to violence and/or hatred’ directed at our coach,” the letter read.
“Any and all allegations made by VIU players regarding our team and coach should have been directly communicated to PACWEST officials alone, they should not have been uploaded publicly to social media.”
The PACWEST then suspended Clagett in early February, and CBC lost its right to host the PACWEST championships after an investigation by the conference.
VIU went on to finish first in the conference with a 21-1 record and will now go into the national tournament as a conference champion. CBC will have to settle for a wildcard spot.
Since June 2017, all places within Canada must comply with the Canadian Human Rights Act, equal opportunity and/or anti-discrimination legislation prohibiting discrimination against gender identity or gender-identity expression. This law protects the inclusion of all trans athletes in women’s and girls’ sports.
President Donald Trump’s recent “No Men in Women’s Sports” executive order in the U.S. states that any publicly funded institution that allows trans athletes to compete in girls’ or women’s sports will lose its federal funding. He has also repeatedly suggested that Canada join the U.S. as the 51st state.
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