B.C. basketball team to skip games over alleged mistreatment of trans player

A group of collegiate basketball players in B.C. say they will not play a pair of games against another team in their division this weekend due to alleged verbal and physical mistreatment of a transgender teammate that they say has not been addressed.

A group of collegiate basketball players in B.C. say they will not play a pair of games against another team in their division this weekend due to alleged verbal and physical mistreatment of a transgender teammate that they say has not been addressed.

All 13 players on the Vancouver Island University Mariners squad have signed a letter saying they do not feel safe playing at Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford, B.C.

"All of us should be free to be ourselves and play the game we love in a supportive and safe environment — including queer and trans athletes," read the letter.

Mariners forward Harriette Mackenzie spoke in October about verbal and physical mistreatment she endured when her team hosted Columbia Bible College for a pair of games in Nanaimo, B.C.

Mackenzie, who is transgender, said the visiting team's coach, Taylor Claggett, went on a "tirade" after losing on Oct. 25, yelling at a Mariners staff member about how Mackenzie shouldn't be allowed to play against women. A social media account linked to Claggett also posted anti-trans messages after the game.

The two sides played again on Oct. 26 and Mackenzie claimed her opponents physically targeted her. She shared a video from the game where, away from the ball, a Columbia player tosses Mackenzie to the ground.

Columbia Bible College, an evangelical Mennonite bible college, later said in a statement that Clagget was "speaking out for the safety of her players like any good coach would do."