Transgender Cheerleader at Texas College Denies Allegations of Assault

News reports broke last week that a transgender, biologically male cheerleader at Ranger College in Texas had been accused of attacking and choking a female cheerleading teammate:

The accused, who goes by Averie Chanel Medlock, was kicked out of the school for the alleged incident, hit with a criminal citation and kicked off the team.

Now, Medlock is denying the allegations and claiming that only one side of the story was considered when the punishments were handed out.

The New York Post was able to contact her, who claimed that "there was no physical contact at all," and that she was "just trying to talk it out as an adult."

The report also detailed that Medlock intends to sue the school for discrimination:

"The athlete said she was then escorted off university grounds and booted from the Ranger College cheer team. She now plans to sue the school for discrimination and is currently searching for an attorney."

But the local jurisdiction's District Attorney contradicted her defense, saying that he believes there "definitely" was an assault:

"Eastland County District Attorney Brad Stephenson said there was an assault — but he believes cops handled the incident appropriately by issuing a citation akin to a speeding ticket or running a stop sign.

'There definitely was an assault and it could’ve ostensibly been charged as a class A misdemeanor, but I think they appropriately charged it as a class C misdemeanor,' Stephenson told The Post Monday."

The alleged victim's father had gone to the police after his daughter, Karleigh Jones, called saying she'd been choked. Medlock blamed him for the escalation to police involvement, claiming she was "just joking" with Jones and that she'd "never done anything mean to Karleigh."

According to the report, Karleigh's father and other parents did acknowledge that they were uncomfortable with Medlock being at the camp because she's older than the other attendees and was born a male.


Medlock's denials are hard to accept given that the local District Attorney said there was "definitely" an assault.

In video recorded by Medlock and shared by the Post, she admits that she "barely touched" Karleigh, while other girls acknowledge that Jones was "terrified:"

This contradicts what she told the Post, that there was "no physical contact at all."

Additionally, and while not indicative of guilt, all of the pictures Medlock publicly shares are heavily edited or filtered. A photo previously shared on her Facebook shows a vastly different look than other distributed photos:

These attempts to hide her actual appearance does not speak to a pattern of truth and authenticity.

This story once again raises concerns about how many issues arise from biological men demanding to be included in areas that used to be reserved exclusively for biological women.

Whether or not Medlock considers herself female, there are significant physical differences that can cause justifiably elevated levels of fear or concern for others who don't share the same strength.

It remains to be seen whether she'll be able to find a lawyer to take up the case, but the lack of care many in the activist community have for the plight of young women forced to share space with biological men is leading to confusion, frustration, and in this case, alleged harm.