A transgender cheerleader expelled from a Texas university for allegedly choking a teammate denies any physical altercation took place and plans to sue, The Post has learned.
Averie Chanel Medlock, 25, insisted her side of the story wasn’t heard before she was slapped with a $500 criminal citation and kicked out of her cheer squad for allegedly assaulting another cheerleader on the 21 of July at Ranger College.
“There was no physical contact,” Medlock told The Post during a phone interview Monday. “I was just trying to talk about it like an adult.”
Medlock, whose legal name is Averie Chanel Satchell, claims her teammate Karleigh Jones got upset when she refused to buy her a vape.
Medlock later went to Karleigh’s room to apologize, but an argument ensued rather than an assault, she recalled.
Medlock’s girlfriend then called her father, who called police, she said.
The athlete said she was later escorted off campus and kicked off the Ranger College cheer team. He now plans to sue the school for discrimination and is currently seeking an attorney.
“There should have been a meeting with me,” Medlock said of being turned away after the indictment. “No questions asked. Coach didn’t even get my side of the story.”
Messages seeking comment from Ranger College cheerleading coach Nichole Turner and college officials were not immediately returned Monday.
“If I had assaulted him, he would be in jail,” Medlock said. “[Jones’ father] made up lies and got me kicked off the team.”
However, Eastland County District Attorney Brad Stephenson said there was an assault, but he believes officers handled the incident appropriately by issuing a citation similar to a speeding ticket or making a stop sign.
“There was definitely an assault and apparently it could have been charged as a class A misdemeanor, but I think they charged it appropriately as a class C misdemeanor,” Stephenson told The Post Monday.
Stephenson said his office has requested all video footage of the altercation. Police departments typically do not produce Class C misdemeanor assault reports, according to the district attorney.
Had Medlock been charged with misdemeanor assault, she would have faced up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine if convicted, Stephenson said.
“I think it was, based on the information I had,” he said when asked if Medlock was properly charged. “The Ranger [police] charged her and also gave her a citation for criminal trespass which spread the word about the situation that could have quickly gotten out of hand.”
Medlock previously told KTAB/KRBC that she was kicked off the team because of Mike Jones’ “assumptions” about what happened. The first trans cheerleader at Ranger College said no one at camp had a problem with her identity until Karleigh and her father complained.
“They knew I was trans,” Medlock insisted. “They knew she was different from all the other girls. It wasn’t a big deal until her dad showed up and made a scene.”
Medlock made the Ranger College cheerleading squad in April after being legally classified as female in Texas and changing her name about a month earlier.
Medlock released footage of what he called “video evidence” showing he didn’t assault Karleigh, as his partner called him “man” while saying he had a penis.
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“Her father keeps saying I choked her and passed out,” Medlock wrote in the post.
“I was just kidding Karleigh,” Medlock said in the clip. “I’ve never done anything wrong with Karleigh.”
Medlock called out his former teammate’s father in the post, insisting that he “still does.”
Jones, meanwhile, has claimed his daughter called him at 1 a.m. while hiding in a room away from Medlock.
Jones declined to do an on-camera interview, KTAB/KRBC reported. But he and other parents said they were uncomfortable with Medlock being at the camp because he is 25 and was born a biological male.
Ranger College issued a statement on the matter, saying it takes all “allegations of this nature” seriously while committed to providing a discrimination-free learning environment.
“At this time, Ranger College is following all applicable Title IX regulations and Board policies,” the statement said.
A Ranger Police Department citation obtained by the stations shows Medlock was cited for assault by physical contact on July 22, hours after the alleged attack. She has until Friday to pay the $500 fine or it doubles to $1,000, Medlock told The Post.
