Fencer Who Protested Transgender Opponent Bashes USA Fencing For Ridiculous Policy

Stephanie Turner, a Senior Women’s Foilest in USA Fencing, protested against facing a transgender opponent by taking a knee last weekend. Turner, 31, was matched against Redmond Sullivan, a trans-identifying biological male, during The Cherry Blossom Open, hosted by USA Fencing.

Due to her actions, Turner was given a "black card," the most severe penalty in fencing. That meant she was disqualified from the tournament, had to be escorted off the premises, and could face suspension from future events. 

Turner told OutKick that USA Fencing's terrible policy is why she had to resort to drastic measures. 

"They have a very strange policy where you have to be living within your identity for a year before you register [in the women’s category]. But there are no claims about whether you have to be on any sort of hormone treatment or testosterone suppression at all. You just have to be living in this identity," she said. 

So, any male can just say, "I've been living as a woman for at least a year, and I'd like to fence in the women's category." And it's just: "Okay, here you go?"

"Yes," Turner told OutKick. "Theoretically, they might be subject to drug testing… but in my 12-plus years of fencing, I have never been drug-tested and most of my friends have never been drug-tested… You can just slap on a wig or grow out your hair, and then you're in the women's category or do none of those things, and be in the category." 

The major problem with USA Fencing is that there is a small group of radical left-wing ideologues who control the organization. Chief among those is Damien Lehfeldt, the Chairman of the USA Fencing Board of Directors. 

Lehfeldt is not shy about his belief that women should be happy to sacrifice scholarships, victories and awards so that biological males can compete in women's fencing. 

Lehfeldt previously posted a "manifesto," if you will, discussing his feelings on "inclusion" in USA Fencing.

"Giving athletes a sense of belonging and a will to live is more powerful than medals and competitive glory," he wrote. 

"Transgender fencers deserve the right to compete with the gender they identify with, and those of adult age should comply with the competition guidelines and regulations outlined by USA Fencing and the IOC… A separate division [for trans athletes] denies them their truth to compete as their authentic selves and is antithetical to USA Fencing’s Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) vision." 

Stephanie Turner, a Senior Women’s Foilest in USA Fencing, protested a transgender opponent by taking a knee and said that USA Fencing's terrible policy is to blame for the unfairness women face.

(Ayman Aref/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The USA Fencing transgender policy reads as follows: 

"USA Fencing is committed to ensuring athletes have the opportunity to participate in USA Fencing-sanctioned events on a fair, inclusive and safe basis without discrimination. Currently USA Fencing has two divisions — men’s and women’s — that default to using the gender binary to determine participation in each division.

"However, we recognize not all individuals’ gender identities are binary, and a gender binary default for participation could potentially cause harm — leaving some individuals to feel excluded and unsafe. Within our divisions, USA Fencing will not discriminate on the basis of gender identity, regardless of sex assigned at birth, or any other form of gender expression for participation in any division. As such, athletes will be permitted to participate in USA Fencing-sanctioned events in a manner consistent with their gender identity/ expression, regardless of the gender associated with the sex they were assigned at birth…" 

As Turner noted, there are very few rules governing "gender identity" so, essentially, any male can declare "I am a woman" and compete against women. 

Turner said that she has tried to get USA Fencing to change its policy in different ways, such as refusing to enter tournaments with transgender competitors, but nothing worked. That's when she resorted to her peaceful protest. 

"I came out now because I have tried other options [that didn’t work]. I have… voted for the [USA Fencing] board members that I wanted, I've talked to people privately, I reached out to ICONS, and I made my stance known anonymously at first because I was quite afraid. But there has been no movement on this issue," Turner said.

Stephanie Turner, a Senior Women’s Foilest in USA Fencing, protested a transgender opponent by taking a knee and said that USA Fencing's terrible policy is to blame for the unfairness women face.

(Olivia Gyapong/The Republic/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

"I've been told privately, within the board of directors, there have been board members who have consistently tried to put this [transgender issue] onto meeting dockets, and it just gets shot down every single time. So, there is no movement on this issue within the USFA. And I felt that in order to get them to even talk about this, it had to be some sort of event. And taking a black card is the way you do it, because it results in an investigation, and they have to talk about it." 

As Turner mentioned, her black card means that USFA must conduct an investigation. Part of that investigation will involve speaking to Turner. But she said they have yet to reach out to her. But they reached out to her transgender opponent, Redmond Sullivan. 

"I have privately been told that Redmond has been reached out to, and not me. But it was by the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Damien Lehfeldt. So, Damien is basically acting like this rogue actor who is basically inserting his own personal political beliefs into the USFA. And there [are] other people who agree and support him, but there are a lot of people who don't agree and support this decision," she said. 

So, rather than reach out to the female fencer who had to give up her chance to win a tournament, Lehfeldt apparently thought it was more important to speak to the transgender opponent. 

While Sullivan's inclusion in the women's division led to Turner's protest last weekend, the athlete is far from the only biological male competing in women's fencing. 

Turner said that one of the tournaments in which she refused to participate was the 2023 Summer Nationals. She did so because of a different transgender competitor, Eden Philpot. 

Stephanie Turner, a Senior Women’s Foilest in USA Fencing, protested a transgender opponent by taking a knee and said that USA Fencing's terrible policy is to blame for the unfairness women face.

(OIS/IOC Handout Photo/USA TODAY via Imagn Images)

"He competed in the Division 1A Women's Foil event, and I believe he got top-eight," Turner said. Philpot finished sixth in that event.  

"He also got first place in the Division 1A women's saber event. So, he competed in two different weapons, which is unusual, and to place top-eight in Division 1A in both weapons is also highly unusual. And, I knew that he was signed up, so I didn't register for that tournament," Turner added.  

Stephanie Turner gets a lot of her information from other members of USA Fencing and board members but couldn't say who they were. Why? Because many of them are afraid to out themselves, knowing that people like Damien Lehfeldt will seek retribution if they defy the radical gender ideology that he wants USA Fencing to promote. 

"I've been told privately that there are approximately over 220 transgender fencers active in the USFA. And that's just those who are willing to openly admit it," Turner said. 

OutKick asked Turner why she thinks so many transgender people are drawn to fencing. 

"The USFA has been so open and so vocal and supportive of this that it creates an environment where people are… drawn to doing this without feeling like they'll face any repercussions," she responded. 

"I think it's probably just the extremist political beliefs of a handful of individuals. it is overriding the beliefs of the majority. Within the USFA, there are people with these extremist beliefs who have occupied spaces like the board of directors, the various referees, college recruiting offices, and they are holding everyone hostage… to this policy. And a lot of people just simply don't support it," Turner continued. 

Turner described herself as a private person who didn't want the spotlight that came with her recent protest. However, she had simply had enough of USA Fencing's blatant disregard for its female athletes. 

"I'm tired of having to deal with this and being called a ‘bigot’ or seeing the USFA post relentless content on their Instagram page about support for this issue without recognizing any of the backlash or disagreement that the rest of the USFA athletic body has." 

Fortunately for Turner, the reaction she's received since taking a stand has been largely positive. It helps that Turner does not use social media. 

"I don't have any social media, but I have gotten an outpouring of support to my fencing club. There's a lot of people who have sent ‘fan mail’… saying that they are very grateful for me for taking a knee. I've also had, surprisingly, a lot of teammates text message me or call me privately to say that they fully support what I've done and that they're behind me," she said. 

Turner knew the possibility that there would be negative backlash because people who speak out against males in women's sports are frequently labeled as "transphobes," "bigots" or "grifters."  

"I think the accusation for people who come out against [transgender athletes in women’s sports] is that you want to be some sort of right-wing media darling or that you are a grafter," she said.  

"I want to make it clear that I'm just a regular person, and I'm fairly anonymous, and I enjoy my anonymity. I care about this issue, and I want it resolved. So, I'm pushing this on all fronts and that's going to push me into a media spotlight as uncomfortable as that is," 

Turner told Fox News Digital that she spent nearly her entire life as a Democrat, but voted Republican in the 2024 election. 

"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 also told OutKick that she became a Christian last year and that has informed a lot of her recent decision-making. 

"I prayed to God and I just asked him for guidance and I called members of my church to help me to figure out what I wanted to do," Turner said. 

Turner said she doesn't know what the future holds for her and USA Fencing, but she has put that into God's hands. 

"I want to thank God, especially, because if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have been able to find this avenue to talk about this issue and, hopefully, find a resolution."