The Female Fencer Who Refused To Compete Against A Male
A female fencer was disqualified from a competition for refusing to compete against a transgender opponent, USA Fencing said in a statement to ABC News on Thursday.
The incident occurred last month at a USA Fencing-sanctioned regional tournament where fencer Stephanie Turner decided to remove her mask and take a knee instead of competing against Redmond Sullivan, a transgender woman.
Following the act of protest, the referee of the University of Maryland match -- which was not an NCAA tournament -- issued a black card to Turner, removing her from the competition.
USA Fencing's current transgender and non-binary athlete policy was enacted in 2023 and allows athletes to participate in sanctioned events "in a manner consistent with their gender identity/ expression, regardless of the gender associated with the sex they were assigned at birth."
While Ms Turner made extensive public statements explaining her position, neither Redmond Sullivan nor the University of Maryland, where the match took place, would comment:
ABC News has reached out to Redmond Sullivan for a comment. The University of Maryland declined to comment on the incident.
USA Fencing was notably squishy after the episode:
"We understand that the conversation on equity and inclusion pertaining to transgender participation in sport is evolving," USA Fencing said in a statement, adding that the organization "will always err on the side of inclusion, and we're committed to amending the policy as more relevant evidence-based research emerges, or as policy changes take effect in the wider Olympic & Paralympic movement."
In fact, it appears that USA Fencing walked into a situation it should have tried to avoid -- Ms Turner had already scripted her role:
“I knew what I had to do because USA Fencing had not been listening to women’s objections,” she recalled later on Fox News.
“I am a woman, and I have an athletic disadvantage to men,” she said, suggesting her opponent should compete in the mixed division.
. . . Turner had asked a friend to take the video of her protest and disqualification, she told Fox News. It drew widespread attention after being posted by the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, an advocacy group that opposes trans athletes.
It looks as though USA Fencing should have had an idea of what would happen. According to the first link above,
"As a woman fencing in a women's tournament, I do not believe men should fence in my category. I was not aware Mr. Sullivan was registered until the night before the tournament. I prayed about it and decided if Mr. Sullivan and I were to fence face-to-face, then I would peaceably protest by taking a knee," Turner said, misgendering Sullivan.
Turner said she has previously refused to fence in tournaments in which she knew a transgender athlete was going to compete, including the 2023 Summer Nationals.
“I want to thank God for trusting me with this mission to fight for female-exclusive sports and putting me in a place to effectively protest," Turner added.
As far as I can see, USA Fencing must have been aware that Sullivan was registered, was transgender, that Ms Turner was registered, had a history of protest, and would potentially compete against Mr Sullivan, and that if they were paired in particular, some controversy would result, which would be avoidable. And the result of the controversy was completely unnecessary for USA Fencing or universities where the tournaments take place:
USA Fencing is under investigation for "potential violations of Texas state law," according to a statement released Tuesday by Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Paxton issued a Civil Investigative Demand, a legal tool used by government agencies to collect information, after the organization disqualified competitor Stephanie Turner when she took a knee last month to protest competing against transgender opponent Redmond Sullivan.
. . . “USA Fencing is on the wrong side of history and potentially the wrong side of the law due to violations of Texas consumer protection laws,” Paxton said in a press release. “USA Fencing’s policies are not only potentially illegal, but also deeply insulting to the young women like Stephanie Turner who have sacrificed so much and dedicated countless hours to compete and succeed in competitions. I will fight to stop these unfair policies, and I will never back down from defending the integrity of women’s sports.”
Paxton, of course, has just announced a primary campaign against sitting Republican Sen John Cornyn, and USA Fencing has set itself up to be the first target of his campaign. And Sen Cruz has now joined the fight:
Sen. Ted Cruz, who is the Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, sent a letter – which was obtained exclusively by OutKick – demanding that the governing body retract that policy and cease allowing males to compete in women's fencing.
"It has come to my attention that USA Fencing is still permitting men to compete in women’s fencing in violation of federal law," Cruz wrote.
Although USA Fencing is an independent organization that does not receive federal funds, they are the National Governing Body (NGB) for fencing in the United States. According to Cruz, that means they must comply with federal law – notably, President Donald Trump's executive order that bans transgender athletes from women's sports – or risk losing their NGB status.
"To remain [the fencing NGB, USA Fencing] must comply with United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee rules and procedures, its statutory obligations to protect women, and President Trump’s recent Executive Order (EO) on Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports. If it does not, and instead continues to put women at risk, Congress may be forced to terminate USA Fencing’s NGB certification," the letter continues.
OutKick reached out to USA Fencing for comment on Cruz' letter. The NGB declined to comment specifically on the letter and, instead, a spokesperson pointed us to the statement that was previously released[.]
Nor do the universities that host USA Fencing tournaments want the additional excuse for the Trump administration to cut more of their funding. Organized sports and boards of trustees do not want controversy. I suspect heads will quietly roll in the wake of this -- but it was entirely foreseeable and avoidable by USA Fencing, which should have been aware of the situation it created for someone who was fully prepared to exploit it and in fact had a history of doing so.Turner received a $5,000 sum and a "courage" award from a sports clothing vendor in the wake of the episode, but this pales in comparison to the damage she's done to USA Fencing, which may well turn out to be comparable to the damage Dylan Mulvaney did to Bud Light. The other smart player here was Redmond Sullivan, who seems to have recognized immediately how quickly he could have become a figure equivalent to Mulvaney or Lia Thomas and promptly disappeared from view. If he's really smart, he'll revert to a former name and detransition.
