Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is investigating USA Fencing after it disqualified a female athlete who refused to compete against a biological male who identifies as a female.
Fencing Academy of Philadelphia’s Stephanie Turner was disqualified after refusing to challenge transgender-identifying Redmond Sullivan at a USA Fencing-sanctioned event at the University of Maryland on March 30. Wagner College’s Sullivan used to compete against men until October 2023, when he started identifying as a woman.
Turner was issued a black card, which represents total disqualification, as “the direct result of her decision to decline to fence an eligible opponent.”
Subsequently, AG Paxton issued a Civil Investigative Demand (CID) to uncover documents that would prove USA Fencing potentially engaged in “false, deceptive, and misleading acts and practices” in violation of Texas consumer laws.
“USA Fencing is on the wrong side of history and potentially the wrong side of the law due to violations of Texas consumer protection laws,” Paxton stated.
Paxton added that the practice was not only illegal and insulting but also disenfranchised women who dedicated countless hours to succeed in women’s sports.
“USA Fencing’s policies are not only potentially illegal, but also deeply insulting to the young women like Stephanie Turner who have sacrificed so much and dedicated countless hours to compete and succeed in competitions. I will fight to stop these unfair policies, and I will never back down from defending the integrity of women’s sports.”
Turner’s previous statement corroborated Paxton’s assessment, having described the disqualification as heart-wrenching as she had spent several months preparing for the event.
“I cried so much because I had spent quite a few months training specifically with this in mind,” she told NewsNation.
However, she disclosed that she had vowed to forfeit the tournament if she was pitted against a transgender-identifying individual as she was not willing to keep pretending that all was well.
“I was always nervous about it, because it creates a scene, and it will obviously result in the black card,” she added.
“I don’t want to let people know that I’m OK with this and pretend like nothing’s happening,” Turner continued. “So, that’s when I took the knee.”
Meanwhile, Wagner College says the transgender-identifying athlete is no longer part of its women’s fencing team, and was conspicuously missing from female events.
“We are in full compliance with NCAA and NEC rules and regulations. The fencer is not a member of our fencing team,” Wagner College Spokesperson Jim Chiavelli said.
When Trump signed the executive order banning men in women’s sports, the NCAA swiftly updated its competition guidelines, banning “student-athletes assigned male at birth” from participating on “women’s teams.”
However, USA Fencing is doubling down on allowing biological male athletes to compete against women, saying it was always prepared to “err on the side of inclusion.” Ironically, it was willing to turn a blind eye to women being excluded from their sports by biological men.
By Oct 2024, transgender-identifying athletes had won over 900 medals in various women’s sports. Two transgender pool players faced off in the UK’s Ultimate Pool Women’s Pro Series Event 2, having displaced all biological female players.
“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,” the fencing body stated. “Hate speech or targeted hate of any kind is not acceptable — online or in person.”
While the event was not held in the Lone Star State, USA Fencing’s failure to comply with Trump’s executive order banning men from women’s sports could hinder its ability to organize tournaments across various institutions and states, including Texas.
