1 week Ago By Sophie Perry
A transgender fencer was thrust into the public eye after a cis opponent refused to play a match against her is no longer on Wagner College’s women’s team.Wagner College has confirmed to Fox News Digital that Redmond Sullivan is no longer part of the team, a week on from the incident at the Cherry Blossom Open tournament at the University of Maryland. Sullivan was thrust into the centre of a media firestorm when her opponent from the Fencing Academy of Philadelphia, Stephanie Turner, removed her mask at the start of their match and refused to go ahead with the bout, taking the knee instead.
Turner, who had completed four matches before facing Sullivan, was shown a black card by the referee and disqualified from the women’s foil tournament. (Getty Images)Officials disqualified her for violating the International Fencing Federation (FIE) policy which states a fencer cannot refuse to compete against a properly entered fencer for any reason.USA Fencing’s policy, which has been in place since 2023, states that trans women can only compete in women’s events if they have completed “one calendar year of testosterone-suppression treatment”.
“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, according to the Daily Mail the wake of her disqualification.“I knew what I had to do because USA Fencing had not been listening to women’s objections.
”Turner allegedly turned to the referee after taking a knee and said: “I’m sorry, I cannot do this. I am a woman, and this is a man, and this is a women’s tournament. And I will not fence this individual.
”Turner added when she took the knee Sullivan came over and asked if she was okay, believing her to be injured, but she told her: “I’m sorry, I have much love and respect for you, but I will not fence you.”“USA Fencing will always err on the side of inclusion”Following the incident, USA Fencing doubled down on its trans-inclusive policy, stating it does not olerate hate speech or “targeted hate of any kind”. “USA Fencing remains committed to fostering an inclusive, respectful community for everyone in our sport, ” a statement published on Thursday (3 April) read.
“We believe in the principle of creating safe communities where all athletes, and community members, have a place.”The statement went on to say that USA Fencing officials “understand there are a range of perspectives” when it comes to trans inclusion in sport and it aims to “engage in respectful, research-based dialogue and review as policy evolves in the Olympic and Paralympic movement as well as domestic law”. “USA Fencing will always err on the side of inclusion and we’re committed to amending the policy as more-relevant evidence-based research emerges, or as policy changes take effect in the wider Olympic and Paralympic movement,” the statement added.
The disqualification incident comes weeks after Donald Trump’s administration passed an executive order to ban trans woman from competing in female sports. Donald Trump. (Getty)The order, signed by Trump at the beginning of February, stated: “In recent years, many educational institutions and athletic associations have allowed men to compete in women’s sports.
This is demeaning, unfair and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.”It went on to say it will be the “policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity and truth”.In response, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) – which oversees student athletics in the United States – nearly immediately announced female competition would be limited to those assigned female at birth.
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