Fencing equipment lies on the floor at the 2023 USA Fencing National Championships in Phoenix on July 1, 2023.© Olivia Gyapong/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Syndication: USA TODAY
(Baltimore, MD) — USA Fencing disqualified a female athlete for refusing to fight a transgender opponent. Stephanie Turner took off her mask and took a knee ahead ahead of her bout against Redmond Sullivan at an NCAA event in Maryland. Turner told the ref “I’m sorry, I cannot do this. I am a woman, and this is a man, and this is a women’s tournament.” Turner was given a black card at the Cherry Blossom Open for her protest, which means an automatic expulsion from the tournament.
Turner, who says she grew up a Democrat, decided to vote for President Trump last November because he promised to ban transgender athletes in women’s sports.
The rules USA Fencing says it’s follows dictate that athletes can compete against opponents the opposite of their gender at birth.
