USA Fencing must now face a federal investigation after punishing a female fencer who knelt in protest rather than compete against a biological male – exposing how our sporting institutions will punish women who dare to defend their own rights.
At a Glance
- USA Fencing is under federal investigation following female fencer Stephanie Turner’s protest against competing with transgender athlete Redmond Sullivan
- Turner was disqualified, placed on 12-month probation, and has now retired from competition after taking a knee in protest
- USA Fencing’s current policy allows biological males to compete in women’s categories after one year of testosterone suppression
- Under pressure, the organization is now considering policy changes that would restrict women’s categories to female-born athletes
- The investigation is being conducted by a newly-formed Title IX team aimed at protecting female athletes from gender ideology in sports
One Woman’s Stand Against the Woke Sports Machine
In a move that perfectly encapsulates the insanity of modern sports governance, USA Fencing finds itself under federal investigation after punishing a female athlete who simply refused to play along with gender ideology. Stephanie Turner, a competitive fencer, took a knee and forfeited her match rather than compete against Redmond Sullivan, a biological male identifying as female. Instead of addressing legitimate concerns about fairness, USA Fencing disqualified Turner, removed her from the tournament, and slapped her with a 12-month probation. This is what happens when you dare to challenge the woke orthodoxy in American sports today.
“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.
The incident at the Cherry Blossom Open went viral, sparking nationwide outrage and highlighting the absurdity of USA Fencing’s transgender inclusion policy. Under their 2023 rules, biological males can compete in women’s events after just one year of testosterone suppression—as if a lifetime of male development magically disappears after 12 months of hormone treatment. Sullivan met these criteria and was therefore deemed eligible to compete against women. Turner, seeing that USA Fencing had turned a deaf ear to women’s objections, decided that enough was enough.
Federal Investigation Exposes Hypocrisy
Now the newly-formed Title IX investigations team is stepping in, working with both the Department of Education and Department of Justice to investigate this glaring violation of women’s rights. Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced the probe, which aims to protect female athletes from the rampant advance of gender ideology in sports. USA Fencing’s tepid response? They’ll “cooperate with any inquiry as required by law.” How generous of them. Not because it’s the right thing to do, but because they’re legally obligated. This is the organization supposedly committed to fairness in sport.
Adding another layer of hypocrisy, USA Fencing has a policy of preferring host cities for national tournaments in states without “laws that harm LGBTQ communities.” Yet they seem perfectly comfortable with policies that harm female athletes. When board members recently voted against forming an all-female task force to review the transgender policy, they made their priorities crystal clear. Women’s concerns take a backseat to ideological compliance in today’s progressive sports landscape.
Too Little, Too Late: USA Fencing’s Policy Shift
Facing mounting pressure and federal scrutiny, USA Fencing is now scrambling to change its tune. Their proposed policy would restrict women’s categories to female-born athletes while keeping men’s events open to all qualified competitors. But even in this belated acknowledgment of biological reality, they can’t resist virtue signaling: “We recognize that many people — particularly transgender and non-binary athletes and their supporters in fencing clubs nationwide — will be profoundly impacted if this policy takes effect.” What about the female athletes who have already been profoundly impacted by competing against biological males?
“USA Fencing is pretending they need outside permission to follow federal law that guarantees fair competition and equal opportunities for women. They know their current policy allowing men to take women’s national and world titles is unjust, yet instead of taking responsibility, they are passing the buck to the USOPC, an ideologically captured organization.” Turner said.
Turner herself, now retiring from competition, has called out USA Fencing’s cowardice. Rather than taking responsibility for their unjust policies, they’re claiming they need “permission” from oversight bodies to follow federal law. They’re passing the buck to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee—another organization thoroughly captured by progressive ideology. This whole saga illustrates how far our sporting institutions have fallen: they’ll enthusiastically embrace every woke cause while punishing women who dare to stand up for their basic rights. If it takes federal investigations to restore sanity to American sports, then bring on the investigators.
