USA Fencing responds to federal investigation over transgender competitor incident
USA Fencing has acknowledged a forthcoming federal investigation into an incident that occurred at one of its events where a women's fencer was punished for refusing to face a transgender competitor.
The investigation, which will be carried out by the newly-formed Title IX investigations team in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Education and Department of Justice, was announced on Friday by Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
The incident, which occurred at the Cherry Blossom Open in Maryland on March 30, saw female fencer Stephanie Turner take a knee in protest of trans competitor Redmond Sullivan. Turner was then disqualified from the event and escorted out of the venue.
USA Fencing provided a statement to Fox News Digital saying it will cooperate with the investigation.
"USA Fencing will respond and cooperate to any inquiry as required by law," the statement read.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
The incident involving Turner quickly drew national attention after a video of her taking a knee to protest Sullivan 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]."
USA Fencing 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.
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 faces potential federal sanctions.
This Title IX investigation will be one of the first missions for the newly formed Title IX investigations team, which was officially formed 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."
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.