Transgender basketball player Harriette Mackenzie, facing pushback from a Christian college for playing against biological women, has complained he is the one at a “major disadvantage.”
Mackenzie, 21, and his team from Vancouver Island University (VIU) were scheduled to play Columbia Bible College (CBC) in Abbotsford, BC, over the weekend — but now Mackenzie’s team refused to play, claiming they feel “unsafe” over the other team’s concerns.
The two teams played in October, after which the opposing team’s head coach Taylor Claggett complained the biological male shouldn't be allowed to play against women.
CBC last week released a statement saying VIU had informed the team they won’t be playing in the two weekend games scheduled January 10 and 11 in Abbotsford, despite the two teams working with the league (PACWEST) “to develop an event safety plan for these specific games.”
The cancellation follows a letter signed by all 13 members of the VIU team accusing CBC of being an “unsafe place to play.”
“CBC stands for safe play for all. Accusations that CBC, its coaches, players, and fans, are a safety threat are simply untrue and misinformed,” wrote the school in the statement.
Mackenzie, who began “transitioning in kindergarten,” in a video posted to social media Sunday night claimed he is the one that has a “major disadvantage” playing against women on the basketball court.
“I never went through male puberty, I only went through female puberty,” claimed Mackenzie.
“My testosterone levels are one-tenth that of a cis woman, due to the absence of reproductive organs. I'm playing at a major competitive disadvantage.”
Mackenzie said critics “try to invalidate” his accomplishments, including Player of the Year and National MVP, saying he only won those things because he’s trans.
The 6-ft 2-in., biological male leads his team in points, rebounds and blocks this season. At his previous school, Mount Royal University, he broke five women’s basketball records.