The feud against transgender competitors that have resulted in forfeiture and sanctions has not stopped Columbia Bible College (CBC) from moving forward this year.
CBC won the University of Canada Athletic Association's National Women's Basketball Championship on Saturday night, beating St. Mary's University 77-70, winning the title for the first time in program history.
For CBC, Elissa Vreugdenhil won the CCAA Championship Tournament MVP, earning 19 points with 12 rebounds in the victory. Grace Park scored 20 points with six rebounds and four assists, earning Game of the Game honors, while Madeline Bealwald scored 20 points with eight rebounds.
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Not only did the victory mark the first national championship in CBC history, it also marked a dramatic turnaround just two years ago as they struggled with a 54-game winning streak from 2018 to 2023.
However, the team also achieved all this under the shadow of accusations related to the treatment of transathletes. Head coach Taylor Kraggett was suspended and the team lost their right to host a conference tournament after allegations of abuse against trans athletes at Vancouver Island University (VIU) in October.
The feud began during the October 25th match between the two teams. VIU scored 69-56 after trans player Harriet McKenzie scored 19 points. Five days after that match, the trans athlete posted an Instagram video claiming that Claughet “catched one of our athletic staff and went to Tillard about how I shouldn't be allowed to play.”
It is also said that Mackenzie was deliberately fouled to the ground by a CBC player. In response, Claggett posted his statement on Instagram, claiming Mackenzie's statement was inaccurate.
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“My intentions have nothing to do with any particular athlete, but instead, it's the safety of female athletes,” writes Kraguet.
VIU then submitted a formal complaint to PacWest, prompting an investigation. When the two teams were scheduled to play again on January 10th and 11th, VIU refused.
“Threats, harassment, discrimination have no place in track and field,” VIU told Fox News Digital in January in a statement not to play. “VIU is fully supportive of student-athletes and confirms that all athletes are right to compete in an environment where safety and well-being prioritizes.”
VIU requested that the two forfeitures not count as losses in the team's record. This was granted by PacWest.
CBC provided a statement over the weekend to Fox News Digital, stating that it “crysed CBC, its coaches, players and fans of accusing them of being a safety threat.”
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A few days later, CBC players denounced Mackenzie in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital.
CBC players accused Mackenzie of “personal attacks,” “dead and misleading comments,” and even “incited violence” against the coach.
“Videos and letters posted by members of VIU's women's basketball team in the past three months directly violate multiple rules stated in Article 17.2 of the manual. Various posts include “personal attacks,” “honor and ambusiness comments.”
“All all allegations made by VIU players regarding our team and coaches should have been communicated directly to Pack West officials only. They should not be uploaded publicly to social media.”
Pack West was ultimately on Viv and Mackenzie's side. Claggett was suspended in early February, and CBC lost its right to host the Pacwest Championships.
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CBC managed to fight to reach the Pack West title game, which was played against VIU and Mackenzie on March 1st. Mackenzie scored 21 points in that game, leading VIU to a 69-59 victory before being awarded the conference tournament MVP at the post-match ceremony.
However, VIU's national championship hopes were quickly shattered after losing to Mohawk University in the first round on Wednesday. It turns out that Mackenzie's Instagram account, the platform that first shared the allegations against Claggett and CBC, was deleted on the same day.
Meanwhile, CBC ran all the way to the historic championship despite frequent distractions this season.
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