Women's fencer opens up on refusing to face transgender opponent, accepting punishment and backlash

Women's fencer Stephanie Turner took her mask off and got a knee in front of her transgender opponent.

Ahead of a bout at the Cherry Blossom Open in Maryland over the weekend, Turner, 31, made the decision not to compete against trans athlete Redmond Sullivan. And Turner also wanted to make sure her refusal was caught on video for the world to see. 

Turner came to the decision the night before the event when she checked the competition pools and saw that she would be competing against Sullivan, whom she had read about in an article last year. 

"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 told Fox News Digital.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Turner went through all her warm-ups that day and went on to fence in four bouts before her matchup with the trans athlete. When it came, she was "nervous and shaky," but was sure about her decision. 

"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.'

"Redmond didn't hear me, and he comes up to me, and he thinks that I may be hurt, or he doesn't understand what's happening. He asks, ‘Are you OK?’ And I said, ‘I’m sorry. I have much love and respect for you, but I will not fence you."

And right after that, Turner's punishment by USA Fencing commenced.

"Redmond says to me, ‘Well you know, there is a member on the board of directors here who supports me, and there is a policy that acknowledges me as a woman, so I am allowed to fence, and you will get blackcarded,’ and I said, 'I know," Turner said. 

Minutes later, the referees 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 where she had to explain what she did. She says 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. 

Then, Turner was escorted out of the venue, she said.

USA Fencing 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.

"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 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.

"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." 

Turner said she has not heard anything back from the organization since the incident. 

It was an incident she had actively tried to avoid at prior events. Turner said she previously refused to enter multiple past fencing events that included other transgender fencers that she knew about. It's an issue that she made an effort to stay on top of for her own awareness and safety.

"In previous years when I had known about transgender fencers being present, I just wouldn't register, but for this one, Redmond must have signed up after me," Turner said. 

"I was like, ‘You know what, I’m just going to give it to God. If this person shows up to my event and is on my script, then I would take a knee, and that would be God's will.'"

It was not a decision she came to lightly, however. 

Turner paid close attention to the "protect women's sports" movement that has emerged in recent years, and the backlash and harassment faced by the women who took part in it. She recalled the story of Riley Gaines being held hostage and assaulted at San Francisco State University in April 2023. 

The idea of the backlash haunted Turner, but wasn't enough to stop her from taking the knee.

"It will probably, at least for a moment, destroy my life. I don't think that it's going to be easy for me from now on going to fencing tournaments. I don't think it's going to be easy for me at practice," Turner said. "It's very hard for me to do this." 

For Turner, one of the sacrifices she is most concerned about is impeding the friendships she has with people in the LGBT community, who she said don't currently know about her stance on the issue. 

As a lifelong Democrat, Turner insists she never opposed LGBTQ people. But the issue of trans inclusion of women's sports has driven her away from supporting the party, and she now identifies as a "new Republican conservative."

"I voted red down the ticket this year," Turner said. "It was like waking up to the lies of the mainstream media… Just to watch so many of my friends have this glassy-eyed look while just defending this policy because their brains can not manage the possibility that their party or their position has been wrong on this, and perhaps this isn't a civil rights movement, and they have been misled."

Turner added that she fully supports President Donald Trump cutting funding to states that allow trans athletes to compete in women's and girls sports. 

"Something needs to be done, and there are activists who have embedded themselves in authoritative positions in sports bodies."

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.