Stone-faced mayor refuses to answer questions about absence as deadly fires spread
An expressionless Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass refused to answer reporters’ questions after being pressed on her initial absence as wildfires raged across her jurisdiction.
“Do you owe citizens an apology for being absent while their homes were burning? And do you regret cutting the Fire Department budget by millions of dollars, Madame Mayor?” Sky News reporter David Blevins asked as Bass waited to deplane Wednesday following her trip to Ghana.
“Have you absolutely nothing to say to the citizens today?” he added.
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES RAGE ACROSS LOS ANGELES COUNTY, FORCING THOUSANDS TO EVACUATE
Bass refused to acknowledge the reporter, continuing to ignore questions as she looked at the ground.
“No apology to them? Do you think you should have been visiting Ghana while this was unfolding back home?” he said.
“Madam mayor, let me ask you just again, have you anything to say to the citizens today as you return?” he said.
On Wednesday, during a late-afternoon news conference in Los Angeles, Bass said that she took the “fastest route back,” adding that she used a military plane for her speedy arrival.
“I took the fastest route back, which included being on a military plane, which facilitated our communications,” she said, acknowledging that she was thousands of miles away when the first wildfires broke out Tuesday. “So I was able to be on the phone the entire time of the flight.”
LOS ANGELES MAYOR SLASHED FIRE BUDGET LAST YEAR, PRIORITIZED HOMELESS POPULATION
“We are fighting for you and everyone in Los Angeles,” she said, appearing to be reading prepared remarks.
At one point during the news conference, the mayor’s notes appeared to bewilder her, and she mistakenly said: “Emergency information, resources and shelter is available. All of this can be found at URL.”
Bass’ leadership has been in the spotlight as many have blamed her for the disaster, pointing to the massive budget cuts she made to critical firefighting forces that she poured into spending on the city’s homeless population.
For the 2023-2024 fiscal year, Los Angeles budgeted $837 million for the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), which was roughly 65% the size of the homeless budget of $1.3 billion.
From the 2023-2024 to the 2024-2025 budgets, the LAFD’s budget was reduced by $17,553,814 from $837,191,237 to $819,637,423.
Bass’ arrival on the scene comes as wildfires continue to rage in Los Angeles County, leaving hundreds of thousands of residents under evacuation orders.
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Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told Fox News that five people have been killed in the Eaton Fire, as of Wednesday afternoon.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Bass’ office for comment.
Biden makes personal announcement instead of taking questions at fire briefing
President Biden on Wednesday made some brief and off-topic remarks after meeting with firefighting officials about the fierce wildfires raging in the Los Angeles area.
“We’re prepared to do anything and everything as long as it takes to contain these fires and help reconstruct, make sure that we can get back to normal,” Biden, who was there to sign a disaster declaration alongside California Gov. Gavin Newsom, said.
“It’s gonna be a hell of a long way. It’s gonna take time. But the government is here to stay, as long as you need us. Give everything you need. Anything you asked and haven’t gotten yet?” he continued.
Newsom thanked Biden for federal support in the fight.
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES RAGE ACROSS LOS ANGELES COUNTY, FORCING THOUSANDS TO EVACUATE THEIR HOMES
“It’s impossible for me to express the level of appreciation,” he said.
Biden then took the meeting in an unexpected direction, announcing that he had become a great-grandfather and celebrating the birth of his eldest granddaughter’s first child.
“The good news is I’m a great-grandfather as of today,” Biden said before declining questions from reporters.
Kristin Crowley, the Los Angeles fire chief, said her team knew there was a “significant threat” from the Pacific Palisades fire as soon as it started because of the “high, high, high winds.”
Crowley said she’d never seen anything like the wind conditions in her 25 years of experience.
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At least two people have died and more than 30,000 are evacuated as a result of the fires that have consumed a total of about 22 square miles.
President-elect Trump used a derisive nickname for Newsom and renewed old criticisms against the governor for resisting a plan to send more water to the state’s agricultural Central Valley because of concerns it would imperil endangered species in a Truth Social on Wednesday.
Trump has sided with farmers over environmentalists in a long-running dispute over California’s scarce water resources, but it’s not clear how his plan could have mitigated the firestorm in the Los Angeles area.
“He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water (it didn’t work!), but didn’t care about the people of California,” Trump said of Newsom in his post Wednesday. “Now the ultimate price is being paid.”
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His comments came after some fire hydrants across Los Angeles County ran out of water amid the overnight firefight.
Officials from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works said that was due to an overwhelming demand on the municipal water system not designed to fight wildfires.
I told my kids, ‘don’t look back.’ What it was like to flee from unstoppable inferno
I have lived in Los Angeles for 24 years. We’ve lived in our current house since 2006. We built it in 2005 and moved in 2006. We overlook Eaton Canyon. Eaton Canyon is on the border of Pasadena and Altadena, both towns that are in L.A. County. We’re less than 10 miles from downtown L.A. I’m married with two kids and a dog.
I’ve heard about fires during my time in L.A. Where we live was actually created by a fire. You always think, “those poor people, pray for them.” And then it’s you.
Here is my experience. I am very used to power outages a couple of times a year. In the summer because of brownouts with extreme heat and in the winter because of high winds. On Tuesday morning, our power went out for a few hours. Then it was turned back on. And I was very lucky, because it was on when I needed to broadcast. And during the day, I was sitting outside doing a Zoom meeting with a cup of coffee in 70-degree weather. A few hours later at 5:10 pm, the power went out again. But now it’s dark.
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES RAGE ACROSS LOS ANGELES COUNTY, FORCING THOUSANDS TO EVACUATE THEIR HOMES
So, my son and I were looking for the flashlight and the batteries and the candles and doing what one does when there’s a power outage. Because we were expecting high winds of up to 100 miles an hour, we went outside the house to move furniture and other things so that they wouldn’t blow away. Really high winds can pick up chairs and tables and go through your house or your neighbor’s house.
We were securing items in the front of the house when, all of a sudden, my son said,” Look, mom, what’s that?”
It was a huge cloud of dark gray smoke rising from the house across the street from us. It was so close to us that my son could have thrown a football and hit it.
At first, I honestly thought there was something on fire in my neighbor’s backyard. My son called 911 and was told he was the second person to have called.
As that was happening, I saw orange to the left of the rear of that house and I realized it wasn’t my neighbor’s backyard that was generating the smoke but that it was coming from the base of the mountain behind that.
Then, moments later, fire trucks and police trucks came up the street. The first responders were saying things but we couldn’t make out what they were saying. So, I flagged a police officer down and asked, “are you telling us to evacuate?”
He said, “Where’s your house?”
I pointed and he said, “No, the fire’s on the west side of the street, you’re on the east.”
But I know from watching the news over the year, that fires jump and in a second they can change direction as the wind does.
My maternal instinct was telling me, “get your kids and dog out of the house now.” Not knowing if I would I ever see our home or neighborhood again, or if something would happen to us. I posted the video on Facebook.
RAGING PALISADES FIRE DESTROYS HIGH SCHOOL FEATURED IN MULTIPLE HOLLYWOOD FILMS
I got back inside the house, and I told the kids, “I think we’re going to go.” And within seconds the police are there with the bullhorn saying, “Evacuate immediately! Evacuate now!”
We did not have a bag packed and it’s pitch black. We blew out the candles so that our house wouldn’t burn inside. My kids were very emotional, because I told them, “get a change of clothes, your phone, computer and chargers.” At that time, they still had school the next day and my son had volleyball tryouts, too.
We couldn’t find our dog, because it was pitch black, or his collar or his leash!
My next thought was, “Oh my, we need food for him.” And then, my next thought was, “Where are we going, where are going to stay?”
I grabbed my purse, my keys, my phone and charger, my dog and two kids and walked out the door with the clothes on my back. And that’s it.
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My street was the first to be evacuated because of this fire. There were fire trucks coming up the street – so may of them, I’ve never seen that many. Ther were police, ambulances and forest trucks, too. It would have been hard to get out of our neighborhood and it would have been complete chaos and pandemonium, except the first responders who took charge, told people to wait or go and then controlled the traffic.
Considering the circumstances, the first responders were amazing and they got us out fast.
Driving down the hill to my right was an inferno. It was surreal. It was so bad, my kids couldn’t look at it.
I told my kids, “don’t look back.” I had already looked in the rearview mirror and seen the flames and I honestly thought, there’s no way our house will survive this.
As a mother, I was trying not to let my kids see me cry. I travel a lot for my job, working in LA, DC and New York. I typically stay at a Marriott and I knew there were Marriott hotels within a few miles of our house. I was literally calling the hotel on speaker from my car but the service kept going in and out. I also had to find a hotel that would take pets. We were very lucky that the hotel was able to take us.
Right now, where I’m staying at this Marriott, more than half of this hotel is filled with people who were evacuated.
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My kids go to different schools. My daughter’s school is at the top of a mountain. Classes at that school was cancelled on Tuesday because of high winds. Her school was also cancelled for today. But my son, we did not find out that his school was cancelled for Wednesday until last night when were at the hotel. And I was so relieved because my son hadn’t been able to do his homework and he had volleyball tryouts. I was hoping I could just get them some food and rest. We still don’t know if they have school on Thursday or not.
Now that I’m at the hotel, and we’re safe, there are other thoughts that have been coming to me.
We have family dinner on Sunday nights. Because of our four schedules, we can’t have dinner together every night like we did when the kids were little. On Sundays, my husband will ask everyone a question. This past Sunday, just coincidentally, the question was, “If you had to leave the house and could only take one thing with you, what would it be?” I thought about a cassette I still have with the answering machine recording of my dad’s voice. My dad died in 1992.
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Earlier in the day, I was listening to the reports about Pacific Palisades. We have friends there and I suggested to my husband that we should check on them. And I thought to myself, “Gee, I wonder where we would go?” I do have two cousins here. But most of our family is on the East Coast. And it’s hard for four people and a dog to just to descend upon someone. Earlier in the day, I looked up what hotels near us take pets.
Before I even got to the hotel, I thought about that Sunday dinner question. And I thought about my mother’s engagement ring, my grandmother’s ring, my wedding album, my piano I haven’t played for many, many years. I used to be quite a piano player. And I always thought, I’ll do it again when I’m retired. I think about some of the sentimental things: tea cups that were my great-grandmother’s. And then I started to think about all my clothes. I am a woman, after all, and I did think about it.
My husband’s mother from India just died a few months ago. There was a photo of him with his mother. That was what was on his mind Tuesday night.
Then you start to think, how am I going to do this? If we lose the house, where are we going to live? Do we have enough money from insurance to replace it? Would we rebuild? It’s like a three-ring circus in my head right now.
I’ve always been one of those people that says, “You got out alive and you’re OK.” That’s what matters. But, honestly, saying it is one thing, this is another.
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I know that the house is just a building. But there are memories in that building and there are things in that building that are very special. There are cards that my kids have made me, pictures, love letters that my husband wrote me when we were dating.
We don’t know if our house is OK. And these are all the things on my mind while we wait to find out.
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Mexico’s president turns tables on Trump with map idea of her own
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum chided President-elect Trump for saying he plans to rename the Gulf of Mexico, saying she has a new name for the United States.
“Mexican America. That sounds nice,” Sheinbaum quipped Wednesday in Mexico City during a press conference, Reuters reported.
Sheinbaum cited a map from 1607 during the press conference and was joined by Mexico’s former culture minister, Jose Alfonso Suarez del Real.
“The fact is that Mexican America is recognized since the 17th century… as the name for the whole northern part of the (American) continent,” Suarez del Real said, pointing to the map.
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Sheinbaum’s remark followed Trump holding his own press conference Tuesday, where he made a series of announcements and further previewed his upcoming second administration, including saying he plans to rename the Gulf of Mexico.
”We have a massive deficit with Mexico, and we help Mexico a lot. They’re essentially run by the cartels, and can’t let that happen, because Mexico is really in trouble, a lot of trouble. Very dangerous place,” Trump said during the press conference.
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“We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring. That covers a lot of territory,” Trump said Tuesday. “The Gulf of America. What a beautiful name. And it’s appropriate.”
The Gulf of Mexico is a partly enclosed sea that borders states such as Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, as well as Mexico and the northwestern portion of Cuba. Trump did not elaborate on how or when he will rename the body of water. Instead, he switched gears to the immigration woes in the U.S. under the Biden White House.
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“Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country. They can stop them, and we’re going to put very serious tariffs on Mexico and Canada, because Canada, they come through Canada, too. And the drugs that are coming through are at record numbers,” Trump said.
Sheinbaum pushed back on Trump’s comment that Mexico is essentially “run by cartels,” responding that the “people are in charge” of the nation.
Sheinbaum added during the press conference that she expects the U.S. and Mexico will have a “good relationship” during the second Trump administration.
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“I think there will be a good relationship,” she said. “President Trump has his way of communicating.”
President-elect details strategy for moving his top agenda items
President-elect Trump pointed to a strategic benefit of the one-bill approach to budget reconciliation that he’s said he prefers during a closed-door meeting with Republican senators on Wednesday evening at the Capitol.
By combining legislation relating to both the southern border crisis and taxes into one reconciliation bill, Trump suggested that one issue could potentially force some lawmakers to make a difficult decision. For example, if a Republican doesn’t support a piece of the tax component, they would also have to vote against the border provisions because they are in one measure.
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With portions of Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expiring this year, the party is looking to act quickly. But the tax debate in 2025 is expected to be more divided among Republicans than that regarding the border. In particular, there is some disagreement in the party on state and local tax (SALT) deductions, which can benefit some states more than others and have been hit by some Republicans as inefficient.
“If somebody, for example, in the House is balking because there’s not SALT in the tax agreement or some other provision they want, if that also means they’d be holding out and voting against the border, it might make it harder for them to do so,” Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., told Fox News Digital. “That’s a very valid point.”
While SALT was not posed as an example of this by Trump himself, it was mentioned by a GOP senator in a side conversation among other attendees as they went over the advantages of a one-bill approach, Hoeven said.
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A source familiar told Fox News that Republicans are preparing to go with Trump’s one-bill preference, but they are also keeping the potential for two bills, one on the border and another to address taxes, in their back pocket in the case of any significant obstacles.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Trump that if one bill is what he wanted, that is what they are going to try first, the source said.
A number of senators have their own preferences for two separate reconciliation bills instead, and some made their cases to Trump during the meeting. However, the conference is set to move forward with Trump’s one-bill approach.
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Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal came up during the discussion following Trump’s remarks about each. Trump has recently said he wants U.S. to take back control of critical trade medium the Panama Canal, while also expressing interest in making Greenland and Canada part of the U.S.
Sources familiar told Fox News that Trump brought these up himself during the meeting, telling senators at one point that these countries “were screwing with” the U.S.
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Several GOP senators took the opportunity to tell Trump that his comments on Canada were “transformative,” the sources said.
The senators believe his approach to Canada is already managing to change the country’s “behavior” and could have even contributed to the recent resignation of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the sources added.
Republican AG files another lawsuit against departing Biden-Harris admin
President Biden will be in office less than two more weeks, but that’s not slowing down Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, both Republicans, from taking the Biden administration to court over new energy-efficient housing standards they argue undermine affordable housing and go beyond what federal law allows.
This isn’t the only late lawsuit or complaint filed against the Biden White House in its waning days, and it marks Paxton’s 103rd lawsuit challenging the Democratic administration.
“So, I don’t know if anybody’s close to that, but he’s kept us busy because we’ve had to prevent him from being more of a king or a dictator than an elected executive who is responsible for implementing, not creating, laws,” Paxton told Fox News Digital in an interview.
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Paxton said they “may have another” lawsuit on the way, but they may not have it ready in time.
In addition to Utah and Texas, the states participating in the lawsuit with the National Association of Home Builders are Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. The coalition contends the administration’s energy standards are not only burdensome but also exceed the authority granted by Congress.
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“Even as our nation prepares to transition to a new administration, the outgoing HUD and USDA offices are committed to inflicting unwanted and unneeded cost increases on Americans who are already struggling to pay their bills, provide for their families, and secure a brighter future for their children,” Reyes said in a statement.
The Biden administration has claimed these rules will save money by making homes more energy efficient. However, critics argue the rules are increasing upfront costs and reducing options for buyers.
The lawsuit also questions whether the administration had the legal authority to enforce these rules. The attorneys general say the administration is relying on private organizations, like the International Code Council, to set standards that go beyond what the original law intended.
Biden’s renewable energy agenda has been a controversial focal point of energy critics over the last four years. On Monday, Biden also signed an executive action that bans new drilling and further oil and natural gas development on more than 625 million acres of U.S. coastal and offshore waters.
Trump’s press secretary quickly slammed the order on X.
“This is a disgraceful decision designed to exact political revenge on the American people who gave President Trump a mandate to increase drilling and lower gas prices. Rest assured, Joe Biden will fail, and we will drill, baby, drill,” Karoline Leavitt wrote on X.
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More than a dozen Republican AGs over the last four years have kept the Biden administration on alert and issued notices on several of his policies. In November, Iowa Republican Attorney General Brenna Bird, alongside more than 20 other attorneys general, sent a letter to Special Counsel Jack Smith, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis, calling on them to drop their cases against President-elect Trump to avoid the risk of a “constitutional crisis.”
Paxton also filed a lawsuit in November against the Biden-Harris Department of Justice to prevent potential destruction of any records from Smith’s “corrupt investigation into President Donald Trump,” according to his office.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not hear back by time of publication.
‘Hillbilly Elegy’ star opens up about JD Vance’s family as ‘View’ hosts take jabs
Actress Glenn Close told the co-hosts of “The View” on Wednesday that Vice President-elect JD Vance’s family was “generous” while they were filming the movie adaptation of his memoir “Hillbilly Elegy.”
Co-host Joy Behar asked Close about her Oscar-nominated role as Vance’s grandmother “Mamaw” in the 2020 movie, which portrayed his hardscrabble upbringing in Ohio. Close said he and his family visited the set and Vance helped the young actor who played him as a boy in the film with the role.
“We all met members of the family. We all sat with them individually, you know, one-on-one and, for me, with Mamaw, I’d say, ‘how did she walk into a room, how did she sit, how did she smoke, how did she laugh, how did she change the chemistry?’ So that was, you know, the family was very generous with their time,” Close said.
She then paused and said of Vance, “I don’t know what happened,” seemingly in reference to his conservative politics. Close is a longtime supporter of the Democratic Party, and she said power was an “aphrodisiac.”
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Behar and co-host Sunny Hostin made some jabs directed at Vance during the discussion. Vance, bolstered by the attention from the book and film adaptation, ran successfully for the U.S. Senate in Ohio in 2022 before being tapped as Donald Trump’s 2024 running mate.
“He had a whole different personality in those days than he has now,” Behar said. “A lot of people out there are like that. ‘The Invasion of the Body Snatchers,’ I think, is the name of that movie.”
Hostin chimed in, “Well, now he’s talking about childless cat ladies.”
Reviews at the time claimed the film “Hillbilly Elegy” fell short in depicting the working class. “The politically conservative, anti-welfare streak in the author’s writing feels surgically removed,” Rolling Stone’s David Fear wrote, while The Independent’s critic Clarisse Loughrey deemed it an “irresponsible parade of death and despair.”
Addressing the criticism in 2020, Close said that the Netflix movie “wasn’t made with politics in mind.”
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Variety’s chief film critic suggested in July that Vance may have risen to become President-elect Trump’s vice president “thanks to Hollywood’s help.”
“It was that dimension of Vance’s narrative that clearly attracted director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer — both self-avowed liberals, who may have created a monster by legitimizing his origin story, much as ‘The Apprentice’ producer Mark Burnett did by giving Trump a reality TV spotlight back in 2004,” Variety’s Peter Debruge wrote.
Vance’s 2016 memoir was a bestseller and drew attention for bringing to light the socioeconomic woes of Appalachian culture, as well as addressing issues like addiction and violence among working-class Americans.
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Women’s basketball team calls it quits after alleging abuse against trans player
A women’s college basketball team in Vancouver, Canada, is refusing to play a Christian university’s team over alleged abuse against a trans athlete. The Christian university has denied the allegations.
Vancouver Island University released a statement on Wednesday announcing it will not play its upcoming games against Columbia Bible College. The Vancouver Island statement alleges that during an earlier game between the two teams on Oct. 25, a Columbia Bible coach treated the transgender player in a way that violated the Coach’s Code of Ethics.
“Intimidation, harassment, and discrimination have no place in athletics,” the statement read. “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.”
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The school has also requested its athletic conference, the Pacific Western Athletic Association (PACWEST), to not penalize the team for its refusal to play.
Columbia Bible has provided a statement to Fox News Digital addressing Vancouver Island’s decision and statement.
“This was surprising news to us,” the statement read. “CBC stands for safe play for all. Accusations that CBC, its coaches, players, and fans are a safety threat are simply untrue and misinformed.”
Columbia Bible’s statement also included claims that the university was developing a safety plan, which included added security for the games that involved the trans athlete.
“CBC has a reputation for providing a safe environment, however, out of an abundance of caution, CBC in cooperation with PACWEST, developed an event safety plan specifically for these games. We received input from VIU and the Abbotsford Police Department. This plan included extra security among other measures,” the statement read.
All of the players on Vancouver Island’s team have signed a letter saying they do not feel safe playing at Columbia Bible after the October incident.
The trans player is third-year forward Harriette Mackenzie, who is openly transgender, as reported by multiple outlets.
Mackenzie posted a video to the athlete’s Instagram page on Oct. 30, alleging Columbia Bible head coach Taylor Clagett “cornered one of our athletic staff and went on a tirade about how I shouldn’t be allowed to play.”
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Mackenzie said she was also deliberately fouled to the ground by a Columbia Bible player.
“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,” she wrote.
Vancouver Island has submitted a formal complaint to the PACWEST, as an investigation into the matter is currently ongoing. The university says that Mackenzie’s participation is in compliance with conference policy.
“VIU strictly adheres to the rules and regulations established by PACWEST and the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), including the CCAA’s policy on transgender student-athlete participation,” its statement reads.
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The PACWEST released its own statement on the matter on Nov. 1.
“The PACWEST is aware that participation of transgender student-athletes has recently received public attention. As a member of the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), the PACWEST follows national policies and procedures for all sports that lead into CCAA championships, including the CCAA’s policy on transgender student-athlete participation,” the statement read.
“Furthermore, the PACWEST encourages everyone to engage in education through the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) with their findings around diversity and inclusion and transgender people in sport. Creating a safe and inclusive environment for all participants is a shared responsibility.”
In the U.S., President-elect Trump has vowed to ban trans athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports. Trump has also repeatedly suggested that Canada join the U.S., potentially as the 51st state.