A female fencer has been disqualified from a tournament after she refused to take on a transgender opponent.
Fencing Academy of Philadelphia’s Stephanie Turner refused to fight Redmond Sullivan, who transferred to the Wagner College women’s team in 2024, at the Cherry Blossom Open tournament at the University of Maryland, at the weekend.
Turner had already faced four opponents before she having to take on Sullivan. As the pair were set to begin, she removed her mask and refused to go ahead with the bout, taking the knee instead.
She was shown a black card by the referee and disqualified from the competition.
“I saw that I was going to be in a pool with Redmond, and from there I said: ‘OK, let’s do it. I’m going to take the knee’,” Turner said, according to the Daily Mail.
“I knew what I had to do because USA Fencing had not been listening to women’s objections.”
A USA Fencing policy, which has been in place since 2023, states that trans women can only compete in women’s events if they have completed “one calendar year of testosterone-suppression treatment”.
Turner went on to say that when she took the knee, her opponent thought she was injured and asked if she was OK. But she told Sullivan: “I’m sorry, I have much love and respect for you, but I will not fence you.
“Redmond says to me: ’Well, there is a member on the board of directors here who supports me, and there is a policy that acknowledges me as a woman, so I am allowed to fence, and you will get black-carded’. I said, ’I know’,” The Washington Times reported.
‘Everyone should have the ability to participate in sports’
In a statement to the US edition of the Daily Express, a spokesperson for USA Fencing said the 2023 policy was designed to “expand access to the sport of fencing and create inclusive, safe spaces”.
They went on to say: “The policy is based on the principle that everyone should have the ability to participate in sports. We understand that the conversation on equity and inclusion pertaining to transgender participation in sport is evolving. USA Fencing 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 and Paralympic movement.
“We respect the viewpoints on all sides and encourage our members to continue sharing them with us as the matter evolves. It’s important for the fencing community to engage in this dialogue but we expect this conversation to be conducted respectfully, whether at our tournaments or in online spaces.”
USA Fencing had a responsibility to “ensure that all athletes, regardless of their personal positions, compete under the same rules”, the spokesperson added.
“In the case of Stephanie Turner, her disqualification was not related to any personal statement but was merely the direct result of her decision to decline to fence an eligible opponent.”
In response to USA Fencing’s stance, tennis legend Martina Navratilova, who is well-known for her opposition to trans inclusion in sport, wrote on social media: “This is what happens when female athletes protest. I am fuming… shame on USA Fencing, shame on you for doing this. How dare you throw women under the gender bullsh*t bus.”
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