Trump admin to investigate USA Fencing incident after punishment to woman who refused to face trans opponent
Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced Friday that the newly-formed Title IX investigations team will be probing the incident at a USA Fencing event when women’s fencer Stephanie Turner was disqualified and escorted out of the venue for taking a knee in protest of a transgender opponent.
McMahon announced the news during an interview on Fox News’ “Faulkner Focus.”
“We have a special Title IX investigations team that is going to be investigating anyone who was associated with this to make sure that this doesn’t continue to happen,” McMahon said. “The president has made crystal clear that he is not going to tolerate men being able to compete in women’s sports, he signed an executive order, and we’re upholding Title IX.
“For those who violate these provisions, we will investigate you and take action.”
Department of Education spokeswoman Julie Hartman told Fox News Digital that the University of Maryland has “responsibility” for the incident as the host site for the event where it took place, as well as Wagner College, which previously rostered the transgender fencer.
“The nation watched as a female competitor bravely took a knee and forfeited an inherently unfair fencing match after discovering that her opponent was a male. No woman should have to recuse herself from a match that she trained diligently for because she fears for her safety. As a tournament host, University of Maryland has a responsibility to follow Title IX by not allowing males to compete in female competitions and occupy female-only intimate facilities,” Hartman said.
“Similarly, Wagner College has a responsibility to not allow males on female rosters. Unlike the Biden administration, which weaponized Title IX contrary to its meaning to deny female athletes their civil rights, the Trump Administration’s Department of Education and the Department of Justice’s Title IX Special Investigations Team will not allow recipients of federal funding to deny women’s equal opportunity protections under the law.”
This investigation will be one of the first missions for the newly formed Title IX investigations team, which was officially formed in conjunction with the Department of Education and Department of Justice last week. The initiative was announced last Friday with the mission to “protect female athletes, from the pernicious effects of gender ideology in school programs and activities.”
“Protecting women and women’s sports is a key priority for this Department of Justice,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday. “This collaborative effort with the Department of Education will enable our attorneys to take comprehensive action when women’s sports or spaces are threatened and use the full power of the law to remedy any violation of women’s civil rights.”
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Department of Justice spokeswoman Natalie Baldassarre placed blame on former President Biden for the influx of incidents involving trans athletes causing disruptions to women’s sports.
“Women across America have spent the last four years disenfranchised by the Biden Administration that allowed men to compete in girls’ sports – jeopardizing their safety, stealing their scholarships, and stripping them of hard-earned awards. The Title IX Special Investigations Team will continue to go after bad actors who continue to endanger young women with woke gender ideology and will leverage every legal resource available to ensure states and organizations follow Title IX to protect women’s civil rights and competitive sports,” Baldassarre said.
The incident involving Turner quickly drew national attention after a video of her taking a knee to protest transgender opponent Redmond Sullivan at the Cherry Blossom Open in Maryland went viral. The footage ignited widespread awareness and backlash against USA Fencing’s gender eligibility policies.
Turner told Fox News Digital that she came to the decision to take the knee the night before the event, when she checked the competition pools and saw that she would be competing against Sullivan.
“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 said. “I knew what I had to do because USA Fencing had not been listening to women’s objections regarding [its gender eligibility policy].”
The referees then 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 and had to explain what she did. She said 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.
USA Fencing previously provided a statement to Fox News Digital addressing the incident.
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“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.
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.
USA Fencing then addressed the controversy with a public statement on Thursday, defending its trans-inclusion policies.
“USA Fencing remains committed to fostering an inclusive, respectful community for everyone in our sport. We believe in the principle of creating a safe communities where all athletes, and community members, have a place,” the statement read.
“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, hate speech of any kind is not acceptable—online or in person. Let’s keep the conversation respectful and the strip welcoming to all.”
The organization first enacted its current trans-inclusion policy in 2023. It allows transgender athletes to compete in the women’s category at both the junior and senior level after completing one calendar year of testosterone suppression treatment. Proof of compliant hormone therapy must be provided prior to competition, but the organization has taken even further steps to prioritize its trans competitors.
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In November 2022, it announced a policy to give preference when selecting host cities for national tournaments to states without laws that “harm members of LGBTQ communities” and states that do not “have laws undermining the reproductive health of women.” That policy went into effect in the 2023 season, the same year it changed its gender policy. It later released a list of states that it intended to “avoid where possible” and the states that it flat out would not allow hosting major events.
This past December, a nonprofit fencing organization, the Fair Fencing Organization, penned an open letter to USA Fencing Board Members urging the re-evaluation of its stance on several issues, including transgender inclusion.
Just days later, however, board members voted against several motions to approve an all-female task force to re-evaluate and revise the current transgender policy, in an 8-3 vote. Now, after siding against women fencers seeking protection from trans inclusion, USA Fencing finds itself plunged into a global controversy after Turner’s viral protest.
Fox News Digital has reached out to USA Fencing for a response to the recent announcement of an investigation.
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