A transgender college basketball player has made the bold claim that she is at a “major biological disadvantage” despite her record-breaking success on the court.
Harriette Mackenzie, 21, leads Vancouver Island in points, rebounds and blocks this season, and previously broke five women's basketball records at Mount Royal University, her previous school.
But despite this, Mackenzie, a biological male, claims he is at a huge “competitive” disadvantage when playing against women on the court.
Explaining that he began the transition in “kindergarten or first grade,” he said, “I'm playing at a huge biological disadvantage.”
“I never went through male puberty, I only went through female puberty.”
He then added: “I think all trans people should be included in sports.”
Harriette Mackenzie claims she has a “major biological disadvantage” playing against women
The 6-foot-2 forward made headlines in recent months amid allegations that she was subjected to physical and verbal abuse from a recent opponent and her coach.
Mackenzie and his Vancouver Island University teammates were supposed to play twice against Columbia Bible College (CBC) in Abbotsford, BC this weekend, but have stated that they do not feel confident enough to do so.
The two schools played a pair of games on back-to-back days in October and trans player Mackenzie accused CBC coach Taylor Claggett of applauding tough play on her.
In a video posted to Instagram on October 30, she She also alleged that Claggett 'trapped' a Vancouver Island employee and insisted she should not be able to play women's basketball during a 'rant' after her first game.
Mackenzie, who is 6-foot-2, leads Vancouver Island 11-1 in points, rebounds and blocks.
The next morning, Mackenzie also received a call from her upset coach who wanted to alert her about social media posts made by someone close to Claggett.
The posts were fiercely critical of Mackenzie, saying “keep women's sports, women's sports,” “a complete joke,” and “make it make sense.”
Mackenzie, who began his transition in kindergarten without ever having gone through male puberty, also accused CBC of “trying to hurt me” during the second game between the two schools.
In her Instagram post, she cited a clip of her being thrown to the ground by a CBC player and a second that appeared to show Claggett applauding the action on the bench.
Mackenzie began her transition in kindergarten without ever having gone through male puberty.
A CBC statement at the time said Claggett was “speaking out for the safety of his players as any good coach would.”
Claggett also posted on Instagram that the allegations were “simply false to who I am and what I believe as a person, coach and leader.”
“We support Taylor Claggett and all of our coaches in expressing their legitimate concerns for the safety of our student-athletes,” the school's statement added.
All 13 players on the Vancouver Island University team signed a letter to the Western Pacific Athletic Association (PACWEST), the conference in which both teams compete, insisting that they do not feel safe playing in the CBC.