Free Republic

Female fencing star Stephanie Turner declined to face a transgender opponent in a late-March tournament, leading to her disqualification from the tournament and an explosion of a debate about women’s sports online. But while she lost the tournament because she declined to compete, it wasn’t all a loss for Turner: she also won a big award and reward from a pro-women’s sports clothing brand. The match at which the original incident occurred was the USA Fencing tournament on March 30, 2025, during which Turner was slated to compete against transgender competitor Redmond Sullivan. Turner took a knee and refused to...

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into USA Fencing over the disqualification of a female participant who refused to compete against a transgender opponent. The incident went down on March 30 at a USA Fencing-sanctioned regional tournament in Maryland, but Paxton has nonetheless issued a ‘Civil Investigative Demand’ over potential violations to Texas law. As Paxton described in his statement, Stephanie Turner was disqualified by USA Fencing for ‘bravely taking a knee instead of competing against a biological male.’ Turner was set to face Redmond Sullivan, who is reportedly transgender. The investigation will uncover documents related to...

A recent incident at a USA Fencing tournament has sparked outrage after a female fencer was disqualified for taking a knee in protest of competing against a transgender athlete. The incident, which took place at the University of Maryland on March 30 during the USA Fencing-sanctioned regional tournament “The Cherry Blossom – D1A/VET ROC,” was captured in a viral video posted by the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, or ICONS. In the video, fencer Stephanie Turner can be seen taking a knee instead of competing against Redmond Sullivan, a transgender athlete who switched from the men’s fencing team to the...