A Philadelphia fencer was disqualified after refusing to compete against a transgender opponent. Stephanie Turner was progressing through the rounds at the University of Maryland’s Cherry Blossom tournament when she would have faced Redmond Sullivan, who was born male and—prior to transfer—part of Wagner College’s men’s team. Turner ‘took the knee’ and refused to fight a man in a women’s competition. Absurdly (or predictably), on Wednesday, April 2nd, she was penalised by the sport’s leadership body, USA Fencing, which defended disqualification with verbiage, stating how it
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.
Appalled tennis legend Martina Navratilova took to social media to protest Turner’s ‘black card,’ stating
“This is what happens when female athletes protest! Anyone here still thinks this is fair??? I am fuming… and shame on @USAFencing, shame on you for doing this. How dare you throw women under the gender bulls— bus!!!”
