EASTLAND COUNTY, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Last week, a transgender cheerleader was kicked out of camp at Ranger College following allegations that she assaulted another camper. Parents say the cheerleader choked the camper out in a physical assault, but the cheerleader says the parents are uncomfortable with her being transgender, and that there was never a physical altercation, only a verbal disagreement on both sides.

So what really happened at Ranger College? KTAB and KRBC talked to the cheerleader, Averie Satchell, the parents of the camper, identified only as Karleigh, parents of other campers who witnessed the incident, and obtained copies of the criminal citation filed, as well as a statement from the college.

Let’s unpack what was found . . .

Averie’s side of the story:

This story first began circulating when Averie posted her version of events on social media. She made a post the afternoon of July 22, less than a day after the incident occurred.

In the post, Averie says, “a girl on the team was being very disrespectful and told me that I am a MAN with a PENIS and and that guy should not be on the team and I stood up for myself and she called her mom and dad because she was scared because I took up for myself.”

Averie goes on to claim that she never assaulted anyone and was only yelling, so she doesn’t know why she’s facing a criminal citation.

Later that night, Averie made a second post with a video. The video begins with Averie knocking on the door of the other camper involved in the assault incident, Karleigh. This video is after the alleged incident, and Averie is heard asking to come inside and apologize, but Karleigh says no. There are also other campers on the other side of the door in a dorm room with Karleigh.

“If anyone has a problem, come address it to my face like an adult,” Averie replies.

Some of the girls on the other side of the door then started saying things like “you’re a man” and “you have a penis”.

The video then continues, and Averie can be heard referencing the alleged assault, saying she “barely touched Karleigh” and that she was only joking.

Girls inside the dorm responded to this, saying that Karleigh didn’t find it funny and that “she was terrified.”

One of Averie’s friends then sticks up for her, telling the girls in the dorm that they “crossed a line.”

Averie ends the video telling Karleigh, “there’s no beef between me and you. Sorry to upset you.” 

After the posts went viral, garnering tens of thousands of reactions, shares, and comments on social media, Averie did a zoom interview with KTAB and KRBC to further explain what happened the night of July 21.

She says that there was an ongoing dispute between her and Karleigh, and after she went to apologize to Karleigh about the dispute the first time (this was separate from the video posted on social media), Karleigh called her father and said Averie assaulted her and choked her out, so the father called police.

Police and the father both then arrived at the college. When Averie was initially questioned by police, she says that they asked if she put her hands on Karleigh, and she told them no and clarified that she was only joking.

Averie says the officers, Karleigh, her father, and her roommate, all talked for around an hour before the officers returned and told Averie she was going to be given a criminal citation.

When asked about the citation, Averie did state multiple times that it was for verbal assault. However, KTAB and KRBC obtained a copy of the citation, and learned that it was a misdemeanor citation for Assault by Physical Contact, and a call to the Eastland County District Attorney’s Office confirmed it was issued on allegations of unwanted touching.

After the citation was issued, Averie was kicked off of Ranger College property and sent home to the Waco area.

Averie says that no one with the school, not even her cheer coach, got her side of the story after the alleged assault, and she’s upset and feels that the officers made the decision to kick her out of the program based solely on what the father had to say.

“I was kicked off the team for assumptions because of the dad’s assumptions of what happened,” Averie says.

She goes on to explain that the entire college knew she was transgender and that they were very welcoming toward her prior to this incident. She says staff would even come to practices to show her support.

No one had an issue with her, according to Averie, until Karleigh and her father complained.

“They knew that I was trans. They knew that I was different from all the other girls. It wasn’t a big deal until her dad came up there and made a scene,” Averie says.

In order to perform as a female in Ranger College’s cheer program, Averie did say she had to be legally classified as a female in the State of Texas, which she was able to accomplish, along with a name change, in Travis County about a month before the camp began.

Averie also wanted to add that she has seen no solid proof of physical assault, and that if she did choke Karleigh out, she would have been arrested, not just cited, and Karleigh would have had visible injuries.

What Karleigh’s father and other parents have to say:

When Averie’s allegations went viral on social media, Karleigh’s father also made a post outlining his side of the story.

In his post, the father says, “I ask you what you would have done when receiving a phone call at 1 o’clock in the morning from your daughter stating they had locked themselves in the room with other girls, after this person said You want to fight, and proceeded to put their hands around my daughters neck.”

He goes on to explain that he never said anything about Averie’s race or gender, and that his issue is with the physical assault. He also alleges that the video Averie posted was edited and does not show the full story.

KTAB and KRBC were able to get a few other short videos that give more context about what happened. One begins with the girls who were inside the dorm room saying, “we have nothing against you, Averie” and they tell her to leave but she won’t. 

In this video, Averie is also heard telling the girls: “why did you call me a man”, “come outside and you just man up”, “watch your back”, and “outside of cheer I don’t *** with y’all, so outside of today…don’t **** with me and I won’t **** with you”.

This video also documents Averie saying, “I was just joking with Karleigh. I have never done anything mean to Karleigh.” 

Karleigh’s father did not wish to give any additional information on the record beyond his statement on social media. Both he and parents of other campers who witnessed the altercation refused to do an on-camera or on-the record interview.

However, the other parents did express that they were uncomfortable with Averie being on the team around their children because she’s 25-years-old and they believe she is a man. 

Ranger College statement and police citation:

Ranger College also issued a brief statement on the matter, which reads, “Ranger College takes all allegations of this nature seriously and is committed to providing a learning environment free from discrimination.  At this time, Ranger College is following all applicable Title IX regulations and Board Policies.”

They also declined to give any further information for an interivew.

The only other documentation on the alleged assault was from police, which once again, does state Averie was cited for Assault by Physical Contact by the Ranger Police Department on July 22 at 4:30 a.m.

No further information has been released.