USA Fencing Disqualified a Cis Athlete Who Refused to Compete Against a Trans Woman

The cis fencer knelt in front of her trans opponent, removed her protective mask, and refused to begin the match.

By Samantha Riedel April 3, 2025

USA Fencing says it is standing by its decision to disqualify a cisgender fencer who forfeited a tournament match against a transgender opponent last week, an act the organization says violated international competition rules.

On March 30, USA Fencing (the country’s governing body for youth and adult competitive fencing) oversaw the annual Cherry Blossom tournament at the University of Maryland. During the Division 1 Women’s Foil event, cis fencer Stephanie Turner knelt in front of her opponent Redmond Sullivan, removed her protective mask, and refused to begin the match. A referee then showed Turner a black card to disqualify her.

A black card is the harshest penalty in fencing, one that is usually deployed in cases of egregious unsportsmanlike conduct. In a statement to the Irish Star this week, USA Fencing said that Turner’s conduct violated rules for competition set by the International Fencing Federation (FIE).

“[Turner’s] 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,” USA Fencing’s statement read in part. FIE’s Technical Rules bar athletes from competing if they “refuse to fence against any other fencer whatsoever […] correctly entered in the event.”

“USA Fencing is obligated to follow the letter of those rules and ensure that participants respect the standards set at the international level,” the organization’s statement continued. “We remain committed to inclusivity within our sport while also upholding every requirement dictated by our governing body.”

USA Fencing also told the Star that it will “always err on the side of inclusion,” but that its leaders “respect the viewpoints on all sides” and would consider changing their trans and nonbinary athlete policy should Olympic policies change or new “relevant evidence-based research” be conducted. The organization’s current policy allows adult trans and nonbinary people to compete in men’s or women’s divisions depending on their stated gender identity, with restrictions based on an athlete’s testosterone levels; trans women must complete a year of testosterone suppression to be eligible for women’s competition, while trans men who take testosterone are automatically disqualified from women’s events.

Sullivan went on to finish 24th overall in the field of 39 competitors (including Turner), with seasoned competitor Shuang Li picking up the fifth gold medal of her career. Of course, Li received no accolades from right-wing media outlets, much less self-proclaimed defender of women’s sports J.K. Rowling, who focused on denigrating Sullivan and uplifting Turner on Elon Musk’s X social media platform. Rowling wrote in one post that Turner is “what a heroine looks like,” after sharing another post from former tennis star turned anti-trans campaigner Martina Navratilova, who said she was “fuming” and shamed USA Fencing for “throw[ing] women under the gender bullshit bus.”

Current scientific research has not shown that trans women hold significant biological advantages over cis women in competitive sports. In fact, a study backed by the International Olympic Committee last year found that trans women who suppress their testosterone may face significant disadvantages in some athletic metrics like vertical leap. But conservatives in the U.S. have insisted that it is “common sense” to ban trans women and girls from women’s sports, which has now become a rallying cry for the second Trump administration, as officials use trans athletes as a cudgel to withhold funding from states like Maine by claiming they are violating federal civil rights law.

In 2022, the NCAA tightened restrictions on trans athletes’ eligibility following the success of then-college swimmer Lia Thomas. NCAA president Charlie Baker said in February that the organization would voluntarily shift its policies to align with Trump’s executive order calling for sports to be separated based on the president’s definition of “biological sex.” The new participation policy specifically states that a “student-athlete assigned male at birth may not compete for an NCAA women’s team.” It’s not clear based on USA Fencing’s statement this week whether the organization will alter its own policy to match the NCAA updates.