Fencer Stephanie Turner spoke out about some of the difficulties that came with her decision to take a knee in protest of competing against a transgender athlete during a competition.
Turner was honored as the Courage Wins Champion by XX-XY Athletics following the decision, which led to her expulsion from the event and a USA Fencing investigation.
She appeared on OutKick’s "Gaines for Girls" podcast with Riley Gaines to talk about the award and opened up about coming out against trans inclusion in women’s sports.
"There are quite a lot of women who are witnessing men in their sports, and they are trying to save their own sports on their own, and it’s hard to come out because you essentially nuke your whole life," she said. "You can face social ostracism, you can have financial blowback, you can have training disrupted, and you could have officials or referees now not being very favorable toward you for the rest of your life.
"There’s no end to the backlash that you may face, or you could have threats on your life like I know in your case you have had such things happen to you. So, it’s not fun being on the receiving end of this. It’s not what I wanted to do, and it helps to have people who acknowledge that, that it takes some sort of sacrifice to bring attention to an issue and I appreciate XX-XY for their acknowledgment."
USA Fencing told Fox News Digital that Turner is now on probation for the next 12 months after receiving a black card for the forfeit. She can still compete in events under the probation but is choosing not to.
"I'm going to be taking a break from fencing for a while in the U.S. circuit, so that's a little bit of a disruption for me… It has disrupted my training, it has disrupted my interactions when I go out in public, and it will certainly disrupt my competition because I won't be competing in the United States any time soon," she told Fox News Digital when asked if her expectation that taking the knee would "destroy her life," came true.
Instead, Turner will focus on her new mission in the movement to ban trans athletes from women's sports.
"I will remain in the public eye for as long as it takes to resolve this," she said.
Fox News' Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.
EXCLUSIVE: Women's fencer Stephanie Turner's protest kneel against Redmond Sullivan will be her last memory on the strip, for a while.
The 31-year-old Maryland native is stepping away from the sport after being dealt a 12-month probation by USA Fencing over her recent refusal to fence Sullivan at the Cherry Blossom Open on March 30.
Turner knelt on camera, refusing to fence because Sullivan is a trans athlete. Turner was then dealt a black card and escorted out. The footage of her kneeling sparked so much attention that it prompted a federal investigation into USA Fencing.
USA Fencing has now confirmed to Fox News Digital that Turner is under probation for the next 12 months after receiving a black card for the forfeit. She can still compete in events under the probation but is choosing not to.
"I'm going to be taking a break from fencing for a while in the U.S. circuit, so that's a little bit of a disruption for me… It has disrupted my training, it has disrupted my interactions when I go out in public, and it will certainly disrupt my competition because I won't be competing in the United States any time soon," she told Fox News Digital when asked if her expectation that taking the knee would "destroy her life," came true.
Instead, Turner will focus on her new mission in the movement to ban trans athletes from women's sports.
"I will remain in the public eye for as long as it takes to resolve this," she said.
Her recent interactions with friends have been difficult, saying she now gets "dirty looks" from them, and some do not even look at her at all. Turner previously told Fox News Digital that some of her friends were in the "LGBT" community and did not know she believed biologically male trans athletes should not compete in women's sports.
"I'm aware of some of the negative comments that my friends have had, I'm mindful to give them enough space, but I'm sure that, in the future, considering I believe this policy and this ideology to be unsustainable, they'll come around eventually," Turner said.
However, one of Turner's biggest concerns has not come to fruition. After footage of the kneeling was first released, she previously told Fox News Digital she was worried about losing her job.
That has not happened.
Turner's kneel has instead called into question the job security of other individuals, after widespread backlash against USA Fencing and even potential government sanctions.
President Donald Trump's administration has launched an investigation into the situation, which will be carried out by the newly-formed federal Title IX investigations team in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Education.
"The nation watched as a female competitor bravely took a knee and forfeited an inherently unfair fencing match after discovering that her opponent was a male," Education spokeswoman Julie Hartman told Fox News Digital. "The Trump Administration’s Department of Education and the Department of Justice’s Title IX Special investigations team will not allow recipients of federal funding to deny women’s equal opportunity protections under the law."
USA Fencing has told Fox News Digital that it is willing to cooperate in the investigation.
Turner will look to mount the federal pressure on the organization as well while she is not competing.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Tuesday announced a hearing addressing USA Fencing's gender eligibility policies and the incident involving Turner and Redmond. Turner says she will be attending to testify against USA Fencing.
"I don't envy the opposition," Turner said.
"I hope the exposure to this issue that they have been desperately trying to cover up encourages them to change direction on the policy of allowing men in women's sports… I don't want to see anybody punished beyond resolving the policy and ensuring female exclusivity in women's sports."
Additionally, Turner plans to do whatever else is asked her of as a public figure to bring more public attention, and pressure to politicians, sports institutions, or anyone else fighting to keep trans athletes in women's sports.
That even means making new friends with women's sports rights activists, including Riley Gaines.
The episode featurec Turner arguing against the notion that males do not have a physical advantage in fencing, and she opened up to the woman who has directly influenced her current political beliefs.
As a former registered Democrat, Turner says the incident that made her first start to shift her political views to becoming a "new Republican conservative" was witnessing Gaines have to face biologically male trans swimmer Lia Thomas at the 2022 NCAA women's swimming championships.
It was an incident that pushed Turner to the other side of the political spectrum, not just on that singular issue, but it made her question the Democrat platform on every other key issue as well.
"I became concerned about politicians deliberately lying to push a policy they knew would hurt women and girls, it made me wonder ‘how much else you could be lying to me about?’ So from there I turned much of my attention to media that was more conservative-leaning, and I find it I'm [now] more favorable to their policies on economics, social issues, foreign policy and the border," Turner said.
Now, Turner will get to take part in conservative media herself, as she takes a central role in the cause she watched with passion from a distance, before hopping right into it in the past month.
"I'm excited about the future for the first time in women's sports for a few years," Turner said, crediting the movement. "I think it's picking up speed, and we might see a resolution this year."
Meanwhile, USA Fencing will likely face continued scrutiny from the public and federal arbitrators in the coming months after Turner's viral stunt. However, the organization has so far defended its policies and the decision to put Turner on probation.
"Stephanie Turner’s black card was issued in accordance with the same policy and procedures that apply to all black cards at USA Fencing-sanctioned events. Under our rules, a black card results in a probationary period for 12 months — a standard action specified by our policy," a USA Fencing spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
"This does not affect Ms. Turner’s membership status, and she remains eligible to compete in future tournaments. We treat every black card consistently, regardless of the circumstances leading to it, in line with USA Fencing’s established guidelines."
DOGE subcommittee Chairwoman Marjorie Taylor Greene on Tuesday announced a hearing addressing USA Fencing's gender eligibility policies that allow biological male transgender athletes to compete in the women's category.
The hearing is scheduled for May 7.
The announcement comes weeks after women's fencer Stephanie Turner was punished for kneeling in protest of a trans competitor in a widely publicized incident.
Turner has been invited to the hearing along with Damien Lehfeldt, board chair of USA Fencing, to testify.
"Women’s sports are for women only. Radical leftists pushing to let biological men compete against women are destroying fair competition and putting female athletes in physical danger. Stephanie Turner had the courage to call out this insanity, and she’s a hero to women across America," Greene said in the announcement.
"USA Fencing must be held accountable for demeaning women and denying them of the chance to succeed in their own sport. It is out of compliance with President Trump’s executive order and it should not be recognized as the National Governing Body for fencing if it continues to defy the law."
Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced Friday a newly formed Title IX investigations team will be probing the incident involving Turner and trans competitor Redmond Sullivan.
"USA Fencing will respond and cooperate to any inquiry as required by law," the statement said.
The incident involving Turner quickly drew national attention after a video of her taking a knee to protest Sullivan went viral. The footage ignited widespread awareness and backlash against USA Fencing's gender eligibility policies.
Turner told Fox News Digital she decided to take a knee the night before the event when she checked the competition pools and saw she would be competing against Sullivan.
"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. "I knew what I had to do because USA Fencing had not been listening to women's objections regarding [its gender eligibility policy]."
USA Fencing previously provided a statement to Fox News Digital addressing the incident.
"USA Fencing enacted our current transgender and nonbinary athlete policy in 2023. The policy was designed to expand access to the sport of fencing and create inclusive, safe spaces. The policy is based on the principle that everyone should have the ability to participate in sports and was based upon the research available of the day," the statement said.
A USA Fencing spokesperson also told Fox News Digital Turner was not penalized for her stance against trans inclusion. She was penalized for refusing to compete.
"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, which the FIE rules clearly prohibit," the spokesperson said.
USA Fencing then addressed the controversy with a public statement Thursday, defending its trans-inclusion policies.
"USA Fencing remains committed to fostering an inclusive, respectful community for everyone in our sport. We believe in the principle of creating safe communities where all athletes, and community members, have a place," the statement said.
"While we understand there are a range of perspectives, USA Fencing will continue to engage in respectful, research-based dialogue and review as policy evolves in the Olympic and Paralympic movement as well as domestic law. Hate speech of any kind is not acceptable — online or in person. Let's keep the conversation respectful and the strip welcoming to all."
The organization first enacted its current trans-inclusion policy in 2023. It allows transgender athletes to compete in the women's category at both the junior and senior level after completing one calendar year of testosterone suppression treatment. Proof of compliant hormone therapy must be provided prior to competition, but the organization has taken even further steps to prioritize its trans competitors.
In November 2022, it announced a policy to give preference when selecting host cities for national tournaments to states without laws that "harm members of LGBTQ communities" and states that do not "have laws undermining the reproductive health of women."
That policy went into effect during the 2023 season, the same year it changed its gender policy. It later released a list of states that it intended to "avoid where possible" and the states that it flat out would not allow hosting major events.
In December, the nonprofit Fair Fencing Organization penned an open letter to USA Fencing board members, urging the reevaluation of its stance on several issues, including transgender inclusion.
Just days later, however, board members voted against several motions to approve an all-female task force to re-evaluate and revise the current transgender policy, in an 8-3 vote. Now, after siding against women fencers seeking protection from trans inclusion, USA Fencing finds itself with a global controversy after Turner's viral protest.
Richard Norris Williams survived the sinking of the Titanic and went on to become an Olympic gold-medalist tennis player.
George Rinhart/Corbis/Getty Images; Bettman/Getty Images
Richard Norris Williams survived the sinking of the Titanic by swimming to a lifeboat.
After he was rescued, Williams refused a doctor's suggestion to amputate his legs.
He became the highest-ranking tennis player in the US and won an Olympic gold medal in 1924.
Richard Norris Williams overcame the odds on more than one occasion.
At 21, he survived the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. When a doctor suggested he have his frostbitten legs amputated, he refused, his obituary later said.
Incredibly, he regained full sensation in his legs and would go on to become an accomplished tennis player, winning a Wimbledon title and an Olympic gold medal.
It's been 113 years since the RMS Titanic, a British passenger ship operated by the White Star Line, set sail on its infamous voyage.
Over 2,000 people were aboard the ship when it collided with an iceberg and sank during the early hours of April 15, 1912.
Of all the passengers aboard the Titanic, about 700 people made it into lifeboats. Most of the Titanic victims who did not make it onto a lifeboat either drowned, went down with the ship, or froze to death in the Atlantic Ocean as they waited to be rescued.
The survival rate for first-class male passengers aboard Titanic was just 33%, according to the study "Titanic: A Statistical Exploration," making Williams' story of survival all the more extraordinary.
Richard Norris Williams was one of the most notable people who survived the Titanic sinking.
Richard Norris Williams.
George Rinhart/Corbis/Getty Images
Williams, commonly known as R. Norris Williams, was born on January 29, 1891, in Geneva, Switzerland, though his parents were from the US, The New York Times reported.
A descendant of Benjamin Franklin, he grew up in a wealthy family as the son of a prominent lawyer, Charles Duane Williams, who taught him how to play tennis as a child.
After a bout of measles halted his original travel plans to the US, where he planned to attend Harvard University, he booked a ticket on the Titanic, the Times reported.
Williams boarded the Titanic with his father in 1912.
R. Norris Williams, left, with the president of the National Lawn Tennis Association and Vincent Richards.
George Rinhart/Corbis/Getty Images
Williams was 21 when he and his father, 51, boarded the ship at Cherbourg, France, on April 10, 1912.
Of all the first-class and second-class passengers who boarded the Titanic, 45% of those passengers died in the sinking, according to Britannica, compared to 75% of third-class passengers who died.
Williams' escape from the Titanic may have inspired one of the most memorable scenes in the 1997 movie about its sinking.
The Titanic departing Southampton on April 10, 1912.
Pictures from History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Williams later recounted the events of the ship's sinking in an unpublished memoir, which was passed on to his widow and his four children after his death, Main Line Times & Suburban reported.
During the sinking, he freed a passenger trapped in one of the cabins by breaking down a door that was stuck, Sports Illustrated reported. A member of staff then approached him and threatened to fine him for damaging the ship's property.
A similar scene occurs in James Cameron's film "Titanic," when Jack and Rose break down a door during their escape and are reprimanded for damaging White Star Line property.
Williams and his father stayed on the ship as long as possible, but ultimately his father did not survive.
Survivors of the RMS Titanic in one of the ship's collapsible lifeboats, just before being picked up by the Carpathia, April 15, 1912.
Universal History Archive/Getty Images
Both men either jumped into the water or were washed overboard, The New York Times reported.
Williams later wrote in his memoir, parts of which were republished by Main Line Times & Suburban in 2012, that his father was crushed by a falling funnel, though his accounts differed slightly at different points in his life.
To escape the sinking boat, Williams removed his shoes and swam to a lifeboat about 100 yards away, although he recalled being weighed down by a fur coat he was wearing over his life jacket, The New York Times reported.
He reportedly held on to the lifeboat before climbing into it, and sat up to his knees in freezing water and waited to be rescued.
The Times reported that "only about a dozen" of the passengers in Williams' lifeboat survived.
Williams sat in knee-deep water for several hours until he was brought aboard the Carpathia.
The arrival of the Carpathia with rescued passengers of the Titanic
George Rinhart/Getty Images
Once on the Carpathia, Williams was told by a doctor that his frostbitten legs would need to be amputated.
However, the aspiring tennis professional refused.
"I refuse to give you permission," Williams said, according to his 1968 obituary. "I'm going to need these legs."
Determined to save his legs, Williams walked around Carpathia's deck every two hours, eventually regaining sensation in his lower body, The New York Times reported.
Williams went on to win multiple tennis titles and he won a gold medal at the 1924 Paris Olympics.
A high-angle view of the opening ceremony at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
The same year he survived the Titanic sinking, Williams won the US National Tennis Championships in mixed doubles alongside Mark K. Brown and ranked among the top 10 players in the world, according to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
In 1916, he won the national title again and became the highest-ranked tennis player in the US.
In addition to his prowess on the tennis course, Williams also served in the US Army during World War I and was awarded two honors, the Légion d'Honneur and the Croix de Guerre, according to the Olympics.
After the war, Williams resumed his tennis career, and in 1920, he won a Wimbledon doubles title, The New York Times reported.
However, his tennis career reached its peak at the 1924 Paris Olympics when Williams won a mixed-doubles gold medal with his tennis partner, Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman.
Williams married twice and had four children after surviving the disaster.
Richard Norris Williams and his fiancé Jean Haddock in 1919.
George Rinhart/Corbis/Getty Images
According to the Olympics, after retiring from professional tennis, Williams worked as an investment banker and then served as president of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
He was named a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1957, nine years before his death at the age of 77.
Williams died on June 2, 1968, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
According to his New York Times obituary, he was survived by his widow, Frances "Sue" Gillmore Williams, three sons, and one daughter.
USA Fencing has acknowledged a forthcoming federal investigation into an incident that occurred at one of its events where a women's fencer was punished for refusing to face a transgender competitor.
The investigation, which will be carried out by the newly-formed Title IX investigations team in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Education and Department of Justice, was announced on Friday by Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
The incident, which occurred at the Cherry Blossom Open in Maryland on March 30, saw female fencer Stephanie Turner take a knee in protest of trans competitor Redmond Sullivan. Turner was then disqualified from the event and escorted out of the venue.
USA Fencing provided a statement to Fox News Digital saying it will cooperate with the investigation.
"USA Fencing will respond and cooperate to any inquiry as required by law," the statement read.
The incident involving Turner quickly drew national attention after a video of her taking a knee to protest Sullivan went viral. The footage ignited widespread awareness and backlash against USA Fencing's gender eligibility policies.
Turner told Fox News Digital that she came to the decision to take the knee the night before the event, when she checked the competition pools and saw that she would be competing against Sullivan.
"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. "I knew what I had to do because USA Fencing had not been listening to women's objections regarding [its gender eligibility policy]."
USA Fencing first enacted its current trans-inclusion policy in 2023. It allows transgender athletes to compete in the women's category at both the junior and senior level after completing one calendar year of testosterone suppression treatment. Proof of compliant hormone therapy must be provided prior to competition, but the organization has taken even further steps to prioritize its trans competitors.
In November 2022, it announced a policy to give preference when selecting host cities for national tournaments to states without laws that "harm members of LGBTQ communities" and states that do not "have laws undermining the reproductive health of women." That policy went into effect in the 2023 season, the same year it changed its gender policy. It later released a list of states that it intended to "avoid where possible" and the states that it flat out would not allow hosting major events.
This past December, a nonprofit fencing organization, the Fair Fencing Organization, penned an open letter to USA Fencing Board Members urging the re-evaluation of its stance on several issues, including transgender inclusion. Just days later, however, board members voted against several motions to approve an all-female task force to re-evaluate and revise the current transgender policy, in an 8-3 vote.
Now, after siding against women fencers seeking protection from trans inclusion, USA Fencing faces potential federal sanctions.
This Title IX investigation will be one of the first missions for the newly formed Title IX investigations team, which was officially formed last week. The initiative was announced last Friday with the mission to "protect female athletes, from the pernicious effects of gender ideology in school programs and activities."
Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced Friday that the newly-formed Title IX investigations team will be probing the incident at a USA Fencing event when women's fencer Stephanie Turner was disqualified and escorted out of the venue for taking a knee in protest of a transgender opponent.
McMahon announced the news during an interview on Fox News' "Faulkner Focus."
"We have a special Title IX investigations team that is going to be investigating anyone who was associated with this to make sure that this doesn't continue to happen," McMahon said. "The president has made crystal clear that he is not going to tolerate men being able to compete in women's sports, he signed an executive order, and we're upholding Title IX.
"For those who violate these provisions, we will investigate you and take action."
Department of Education spokeswoman Julie Hartman told Fox News Digital that the University of Maryland has "responsibility" for the incident as the host site for the event where it took place, as well as Wagner College, which previously rostered the transgender fencer.
"The nation watched as a female competitor bravely took a knee and forfeited an inherently unfair fencing match after discovering that her opponent was a male. No woman should have to recuse herself from a match that she trained diligently for because she fears for her safety. As a tournament host, University of Maryland has a responsibility to follow Title IX by not allowing males to compete in female competitions and occupy female-only intimate facilities," Hartman said.
"Similarly, Wagner College has a responsibility to not allow males on female rosters. Unlike the Biden administration, which weaponized Title IX contrary to its meaning to deny female athletes their civil rights, the Trump Administration’s Department of Education and the Department of Justice’s Title IX Special Investigations Team will not allow recipients of federal funding to deny women’s equal opportunity protections under the law."
This investigation will be one of the first missions for the newly formed Title IX investigations team, which was officially formed in conjunction with the Department of Education and Department of Justice last week. The initiative was announced last Friday with the mission to "protect female athletes, from the pernicious effects of gender ideology in school programs and activities."
"Protecting women and women’s sports is a key priority for this Department of Justice," Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday. "This collaborative effort with the Department of Education will enable our attorneys to take comprehensive action when women’s sports or spaces are threatened and use the full power of the law to remedy any violation of women’s civil rights."
Department of Justice spokeswoman Natalie Baldassarre placed blame on former President Biden for the influx of incidents involving trans athletes causing disruptions to women's sports.
"Women across America have spent the last four years disenfranchised by the Biden Administration that allowed men to compete in girls’ sports - jeopardizing their safety, stealing their scholarships, and stripping them of hard-earned awards. The Title IX Special Investigations Team will continue to go after bad actors who continue to endanger young women with woke gender ideology and will leverage every legal resource available to ensure states and organizations follow Title IX to protect women’s civil rights and competitive sports," Baldassarre said.
The incident involving Turner quickly drew national attention after a video of her taking a knee to protest transgender opponent Redmond Sullivan at the Cherry Blossom Open in Maryland went viral. The footage ignited widespread awareness and backlash against USA Fencing's gender eligibility policies.
Turner told Fox News Digital that she came to the decision to take the knee the night before the event, when she checked the competition pools and saw that she would be competing against Sullivan.
"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. "I knew what I had to do because USA Fencing had not been listening to women's objections regarding [its gender eligibility policy]."
The referees then dealt Turner a black card, which represents the most severe penalty, leading to expulsion from the tournament or event for serious rule infractions or unsportsmanlike behavior.
Turner said she was then escorted to the bout committee and had to explain what she did. She said the members then handed her a copy of the association's transgender policy and made her sign a document acknowledging the black card. Turner said she signed the document under objection.
USA Fencing previously provided a statement to Fox News Digital addressing the incident.
"USA Fencing enacted our current transgender and non-binary athlete policy in 2023. The policy was designed to expand access to the sport of fencing and create inclusive, safe spaces. The policy is based on the principle that everyone should have the ability to participate in sports and was based upon the research available of the day," the statement read.
A USA Fencing spokesperson also told Fox News Digital that Turner was not penalized for her stance against trans inclusion, but simply for refusing to fence.
"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, which the FIE rules clearly prohibit," the spokesperson said.
USA Fencing then addressed the controversy with a public statement on Thursday, defending its trans-inclusion policies.
"USA Fencing remains committed to fostering an inclusive, respectful community for everyone in our sport. We believe in the principle of creating a safe communities where all athletes, and community members, have a place," the statement read.
"While we understand there are a range of perspectives, USA Fencing will continue to engage in respectful, research-based dialogue and review as policy evolves in the Olympic and Paralympic movement as well as domestic law, hate speech of any kind is not acceptable—online or in person. Let's keep the conversation respectful and the strip welcoming to all."
The organization first enacted its current trans-inclusion policy in 2023. It allows transgender athletes to compete in the women's category at both the junior and senior level after completing one calendar year of testosterone suppression treatment. Proof of compliant hormone therapy must be provided prior to competition, but the organization has taken even further steps to prioritize its trans competitors.
In November 2022, it announced a policy to give preference when selecting host cities for national tournaments to states without laws that "harm members of LGBTQ communities" and states that do not "have laws undermining the reproductive health of women." That policy went into effect in the 2023 season, the same year it changed its gender policy. It later released a list of states that it intended to "avoid where possible" and the states that it flat out would not allow hosting major events.
This past December, a nonprofit fencing organization, the Fair Fencing Organization, penned an open letter to USA Fencing Board Members urging the re-evaluation of its stance on several issues, including transgender inclusion.
Just days later, however, board members voted against several motions to approve an all-female task force to re-evaluate and revise the current transgender policy, in an 8-3 vote. Now, after siding against women fencers seeking protection from trans inclusion, USA Fencing finds itself plunged into a global controversy after Turner's viral protest.
Fox News Digital has reached out to USA Fencing for a response to the recent announcement of an investigation.
Women's fencer Stephanie Turner spoke out against USA Fencing during an interview on Fox News Channel's "American Reports" on Thursday after a video of her kneeling to protest a trans opponent went viral.
"There's really no option to go around this when there are extremists who take on positions at the authoritative positions at [USA Fencing], so I have very little option but being forced to fence," Turner said.
Turner's decision to kneel and refuse to face trans competitor Redmond Sullivan at the Cherry Blossom Open last weekend resulted in Turner being dealt a black card – the most severe penalty, leading to expulsion from the tournament or event for serious rule infractions or unsportsmanlike behavior.
USA Fencing chair Damien Lehfeldt has made multiple pro-trans statements, including a blog post in August 2023, where he argued on behalf of trans inclusion in fencing.
"There is a possibility that transgender women have a physical advantage over their cisgender opponents after transitioning," Lehfeldt wrote. "There is also a possibility they do not. In Fencing, there is no data to support either viewpoint. Giving athletes a sense of belonging and a will to live is more powerful than medals and competitive glory.
"Transgender women are women and gender is not sex," he insisted, adding, "Transgender fencers deserve the right to compete with the gender they identify with."
USA Fencing first enacted its current trans-inclusion policy in 2023. It allows transgender athletes to compete in the women's category at both the junior and senior level after completing one calendar year of testosterone suppression treatment.
But the organization also employs a policy that gives preference when selecting host cities for national tournaments to states without laws that "harm members of LGBTQ communities."
In November 2023, the organization released a list of states that it intended to "avoid where possible" and the states that it flat out would not allow hosting of major events.
This past December, a nonprofit fencing organization, the Fair Fencing Organization, penned an open letter to USA Fencing Board Members urging the re-evaluation of its stance on several issues, including transgender inclusion.
Just days later, however, board members voted against several motions to approve an all-female task force to re-evaluate and revise the current transgender policy, in an 8-3 vote. Now, after siding against women fencers seeking protection from trans inclusion, USA Fencing finds itself plunged into a global controversy after Turner's viral protest.
On Thursday, the organization defended its current trans-inclusion policies in a public statement.
"USA Fencing remains committed to fostering an inclusive, respectful community for everyone in our sport. We believe in the principle of creating safe communities where all athletes, and community members, have a place," the statement read.
"While we understand there are a range of perspectives, USA Fencing will continue to engage in respectful, research-based dialogue and review as policy evolves in the Olympic and Paralympic movement as well as domestic law, hate speech of any kind is not acceptable—online or in person. Let's keep the conversation respectful and the strip welcoming to all."
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USA Fencing has come under fire after a viral video of women's fencer Stephanie Turner kneeling in protest of a transgender opponent.
Prominent figures, including J. K. Rowling and Martina Navratilova, have weighed in on social media, alongside thousands of women's sports rights activists.
USA Fencing addressed the controversy with a public statement on Thursday, defending its trans-inclusion policies.
"USA Fencing remains committed to fostering an inclusive, respectful community for everyone in our sport. We believe in the principle of creating a safe communities where all athletes, and community members, have a place," the statement read.
"While we understand there are a range of perspectives, USA Fencing will continue to engage in respectful, research-based dialogue and review as policy evolves in the Olympic and Paralympic movement as well as domestic law, hate speech of any kind is not acceptable—online or in person. Let's keep the conversation respectful and the strip welcoming to all."
The organization first enacted its current trans-inclusion policy in 2023. It allows transgender athletes to compete in the women's category at both the junior and senior level after completing one calendar year of testosterone suppression treatment. Proof of compliant hormone therapy must be provided prior to competition, but the organization has taken even further steps to prioritize its trans competitors.
In November 2022, it announced a policy to give preference when selecting host cities for national tournaments to states without laws that "harm members of LGBTQ communities" and states that do not "have laws undermining the reproductive health of women." That policy went into effect in the 2023 season, the same year it changed its gender policy.
"We’ve heard from a number of members, including members of the Board and members of our elite athlete community, asking whether continuing to place events in areas with either anti-LGBTQ laws or anti-abortion laws aligns with our core values as an organization," said USA Fencing CEO Phill Andrews in the policy page. "After a robust discussion with our Board and our staff team, USA Fencing has moved to give preference to those states without these laws."
In November 2023, the organization released a list of states that it intended to "avoid where possible" and the states that it flat out would not allow hosting major events. The states on the "do not allow" list were Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.
The states on its "avoid where possible" list include Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming, Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.
This combination of polices preceded an influx of biological male fencers competing in women's and girls' USA Fencing-sanctioned events over the last two years. Some of those competitors previously competed in the men's category. By September 2023, four biological male fencers, who previously competed in the men's category, achieved USA Fencing podium finishes in the women's category.
Turner told Fox News Digital the quantity of trans competitors is even higher than that.
"In fencing, personally, I see it quite often," Turner said. "I have witnessed transgender fencers in women's tournaments and girls tournaments in different age categories, specifically Y-14 (the youngest age group)."
The trans athlete Turner refused to compete against last weekend, Redmond Sullivan, competed in men's events up until June 2023, according to Sullivan's profile page on Fencing Tracker. The page shows no competitions for Sullivan from June 2023 until a return on Sept. 28, 2024 – the athlete's first competition in the women's category at an event in Newtown, Connecticut. Sullivan then went on to win two gold medals, one at the Connecticut Division Junior Olympic Qualifiers on Dec. 8 and one at the Connecticut Division Summer National Qualifiers on March 16.
This past December, a nonprofit fencing organization, the Fair Fencing Organization, penned an open letter to USA Fencing Board Members urging the re-evaluation of its stance on several issues, including transgender inclusion.
"Politics aside, it is a reasonable request to form a task force to do a deeper dive on this issue in fencing and create a safe space where the voices of all women are heard without ridicule and abuse," the letter said.
Just days later, however, board members voted against several motions to approve an all-female task force to re-evaluate and revise the current transgender policy, in an 8-3 vote. Now, after siding against women fencers seeking protection from trans inclusion, USA Fencing finds itself plunged into a global controversy after Turner's viral protest.
USA Fencing provided a statement to Fox News Digital addressing the incident.
"USA Fencing enacted our current transgender and nonbinary athlete policy in 2023. The policy was designed to expand access to the sport of fencing and create inclusive, safe spaces. The policy is based on the principle that everyone should have the ability to participate in sports and was based upon the research available of the day," the statement said.
"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. The way to progress is by respectful discussion based in evidence."
A USA Fencing spokesperson also told Fox News Digital Turner was not penalized for her stance against trans inclusion, but simply for refusing to fence.
"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, which the FIE rules clearly prohibit," the spokesperson said.
"According to the FIE (International Fencing Federation) Technical Rules, specifically Article t.113, a fencer is not permitted to refuse to fence another properly entered fencer for any reason. Under these rules, such a refusal results in disqualification and the corresponding sanctions. This policy exists to maintain fair competition standards and preserve the sport’s integrity."
Women's fencer Stephanie Turner became a household name overnight among activists for women's rights in sports.
A viral video of Turner kneeling to protest a transgender opponent ignited more debate about transgender inclusion in women's sports, especially fencing.
"It will probably, at least for the moment, destroy my life," Turner told Fox News Digital. "It's very hard for me to do this."
Her decision was driven by her opposition to competing against biological males.
"This is a serious issue that is happening within all sports, and it needs to be addressed. There is a difference between men and women," Turner said. "It is a civil rights movement for women and girls, and I prioritize the safety and rights and protection of women and girls over trans-identified males."
Her belief even overpowered her lifelong political allegiance.
Turner, a long-time registered Democrat who broke from the party for the most recent election, says she is now a "new Republican conservative."
She switched parties over the issue of transgender athletes in women's and girls sports.
"A small group of people is holding a much larger athlete base hostage to extremist liberal views," Turner said.
How did it get to this point?
Turner was born and raised in Washington D.C., and now lives in deep blue Montgomery County, Maryland.
Over the years, she's been involved in a close friend group, which includes other fencers. It also includes multiple members of the LGBT community.
"They did not know I had this opinion about transgender women in women's sports. And one of them was one of my really good friends at the [fencing] club. He's in the LGBT community, and a lot of my friends are also in the LGBT community. And I don't want them to be mad at me for this. I love them on a personal level.
"I don't want them to think that I somehow hate them. And I don't want to lose them as friends."
But Turner also feels she can't have legitimate discussions with some people about the issue.
"They lie and say that estrogen can make a man a woman also to the point where you can not tell the difference, and it just becomes an insane argument."
Turner, 31, ventured into competitive fencing 12 years ago at age 19. She joined the club at the University of Maryland and has stuck with it ever since. She later qualified to compete in USA Fencing.
"I commit a lot of time and money for this," Turner said, citing travel, equipment and registration expenses.
Turner's official Fencing Tracker page shows 21 podium finishes, including a gold medal in women's foil at an event called the Trick or Retreat ROC Aug. 18 in Edison, New Jersey.
But she got to a point in her career when she had to be aware of the USA Fencing official gender eligibility policy.
The official policy allows for transgenders to compete in the women's category in both the junior and senior level after completing one calendar year of testosterone suppression treatment. Proof of compliant hormone therapy must be provided prior to competition.
USA Fencing has a policy announced in November 2022 to give preference when selecting host cities for national tournaments to states without laws that "harm members of LGBTQ communities" and states that do not "have laws undermining the reproductive health of women."
"In fencing, personally, I see it quite often," Turner said. "I have witnessed transgender fencers in women's tournaments and girls tournaments in different age categories, specifically Y-14 (the youngest age group)."
Turner had a previous experience avoiding a trans opponent in the summer of 2013. She saw reports of a trans athlete who she had previously known as a biological male fencer, by another name. When Turner saw the athlete was listed as a competitor in that year's Summer Nationals, she decided not to go.
"I never registered because I knew that he was going to be in there," Turner said. "In previous years, when I had known about transgender fencers being present, I just didn't register."
Turner always made sure to avoid registering for events after vetting them for trans athletes.
But what she couldn't foresee was one of them registering after she did.
That happened for the first time last weekend for a Division I-A event called the Cherry Blossom Open at her alma mater, the University of Maryland. Redmond Sullivan, who previously competed in the men's division, according to Fencing Tracker, was registered and placed in the same bracket as Turner.
She only learned this at 10:30 p.m. the night before her matchup with Sullivan.
By that point, she was considering a different approach to handling the situation considering how frequent trans inclusion was becoming.
"I had contemplated in the future that I wanted to avoid not registering for events, just because a transgender person was there, because it could just be every single one of my events has a transgender person," Turner said.
"So, I was like, ‘You know what, I’m just going to give it to God. If this person shows up into my event, and they're on my strip, then I will take a knee, and that would be God's will."
But Turner wanted to take things a step further, a step she knew could "destroy her life," but she did it anyway.
Just minutes before she took the strip to kneel against Sullivan, she went to one of her closest friends on the club for a favor.
"I said, ‘I’m about to do something, and I want you to film it. I'm really nervous about it, and this is your last chance to leave if you want to,' because I didn't know what the reaction was going to be," Turner said.
Her friend agreed to film the kneel, recording a scene that would be witnessed across the fencing world.
Turner was then dealt a black card, disqualified from the event and escorted out so quickly she didn't get to say another word to her teammates, trainers or anyone else.
Turner didn't want this role. She admits to being a private person without any social media channels who "enjoys anonymity."
"I was hoping someone else would come forward or the board of directors would have a change of heart," Turner said.
A nonprofit fencing organization penned an open letter to USA Fencing Board Members in December, urging the national governing body for the sport to reevaluate its stance on several issues, including transgender inclusion.
"Politics aside, it is a reasonable request to form a task force to do a deeper dive on this issue in fencing and create a safe space where the voices of all women are heard without ridicule and abuse," the letter said.
But nothing was done.
Turner is the latest combatant in the ongoing culture war over the issue of trans athletes in women's sports. She has done a televised interview on Fox News Channel, her story has been covered by multiple media outlets and she is even featured in a commercial.
The sports activist brand XX-XY Athletics released its new commercial featuring the clip of Turner's kneel Thursday.
For her, it's all worth it if it means holding institutions like USA Fencing and politicians who have continued to enable trans inclusion accountable.
"It's a litmus test for common sense in whether a politician is able to lie to your face to abide to common culture," Turner said.
"Something needs to be done."
USA Fencing provided a statement to Fox News Digital addressing the incident.
"USA Fencing enacted our current transgender and nonbinary athlete policy in 2023. The policy was designed to expand access to the sport of fencing and create inclusive, safe spaces. The policy is based on the principle that everyone should have the ability to participate in sports and was based upon the research available of the day," the statement said.
"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. The way to progress is by respectful discussion based in evidence."
A USA Fencing spokesperson also told Fox News Digital Turner was not penalized for her stance against trans inclusion, but simply for refusing to fence.
"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, which the FIE rules clearly prohibit," the spokesperson said.
"According to the FIE (International Fencing Federation) Technical Rules, specifically Article t.113, a fencer is not permitted to refuse to fence another properly entered fencer for any reason. Under these rules, such a refusal results in disqualification and the corresponding sanctions. This policy exists to maintain fair competition standards and preserve the sport’s integrity."
"Isn't it amazing how simply this can be explained? The other side likes to say this is complex, it's a complex issue. Stephanie Turner is a heroine in my eyes," Gaines told "America's Newsroom."
"This was at a junior women's Olympic qualifying event. So, it's a really big deal. These aren't scrubs. This is the pinnacle of their sport at this point. I commend her for taking this measure. It's not easy to do, ultimately deciding to boycott. But it's the most effective way to say enough is enough."
Gaines, who swam four years at the University of Kentucky, including against Penn's Lia Thomas, then took a shot at the NCAA.
"The NCAA has continued to deceive the American people, and they've deceived President Trump in this. … The NCAA is repeatedly rewarding the replacement of women in order to champion men and women's sport, which is exactly why myself and about 19 other plaintiffs are suing the NCAA.
"When they use the word inclusion, what they really mean is exclusion. And the people they are excluding are women."
Turner made her decision to forfeit the night before the event when she checked the competition pools and saw that she would be facing Sullivan, whom she had read about in an article last year.
"I knew what I had to do because USA Fencing had not been listening to women's objections regarding [its gender eligibility policy]," Turner said. "I took a knee immediately at that point. Redmond was under the impression that I was going to start fencing. So, when I took the knee, I looked at the ref, and I said, ‘I’m sorry, I cannot do this. I am a woman, and this is a man. And this is a women's tournament. And I will not fence this individual.'"
Minutes later, the referees issued Turner a black card, the sport's most severe penalty, leading to her ejection from the tournament.
A USA Fencing spokesperson told Fox News Digital Turner was not penalized for her stance against trans inclusion. Instead, she was punished for refusing to compete.
Fox News' Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.
