An elite female fencer who was expelled from a tournament for refusing to compete against a biological male said she will stop competing for now in USA Fencing events, citing harassment and the growing number of transgender athletes in the women’s category.
Stephanie Turner, a former collegiate fencer who has competed for 12 years, said at a contentious House hearing Wednesday that “fair female-only competition is harder and harder to come by” because the association now has more than 200 transgender members.
“Speaking out on this issue has made me a target for harassment and violence, as well as cost me friends,” Ms. Turner told the House Oversight subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency, or DOGE, at its hearing entitled “Unfair Play: Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”
“I have decided to step away from the sport I love, at least for now as well because the USFA has fostered an environment where I am unwelcome in my own category,” she said. “It is culturally acceptable to bully and shame women who speak up for women. I should not have had to make this sacrifice.”
In a now-viral video, Ms. Turner took a knee in protest rather than compete against transgender fencer Redmond Sullivan at the Cherry Blossom, a tournament held in April at the University of Maryland. She was suspended afterward.
Before her forfeit, Ms. Turner said that she missed “numerous regional and national tournaments” because if a “known man” was competing in the women’s division, she would not sign up.
Also testifying at the hearing was USA Fencing Board of Directors Chair Damien Lehfeldt, who defended the organization’s transgender-eligibility policy, arguing that female fencers have qualities like agility and strategy that make them competitive with men.
“Ultimately, fencing is a sport of strategy and technique. More than anything else, those elements will most frequently determine who prevails,” said Mr. Lehfeldt, who appeared under subpoena. “And when it comes to strategy and technique, neither sex has any inherent advantage. For that reason, among others, transgender status does not confer any inherent advantage over a cisgender fencer.”
Rep. Pat Fallon, Texas Republican, pointed out that USA Fencing, also known as the U.S. Fencing Association, has separate categories for men and women. There is also a mixed category for both sexes.
Asked if men have attributes that give them a physical advantage over women, Mr. Lehfeldt said, “I would agree with that to an extent, sir.”
Republicans depicted USA Fencing as an organization captured by woke policies, such as using state abortion and LGBTQ policies in their site-selection process for tournaments.
“That knee I took in protest was a cry for help and an act of desperation.”
— ICONS (@icons_women) May 7, 2025
USA Fencing athlete Stephanie Turner testified before Congress about the painful decision to protest being forced to compete against a male opponent. pic.twitter.com/yVrD2XSB0Q
While Mr. Lehfeldt took plenty of hits from Republicans, Democrats argued that the debate over transgender fencers was the wrong venue for the DOGE subcommittee.
“What are they doing with the DOGE subcommittee? They’re bullying trans kids. They’re talking about things that have absolutely nothing to do with government oversight or efficiency or the economy,” said Rep. Melanie Stansbury, New Mexico Democrat and the panel’s ranking member.
She cracked that the DOGE subcommittee is “apparently now a fencing oversight committee.”
USA Fencing is the national governing body for the sport, but does not take federal funding. The private organization, which counts over 700 clubs and 45,000 members, does follow applicable federal law.
Last month, USA Fencing said that it has prepared a revised Transgender and Non-Binary Athletes Eligibility Policy that would require athletes to compete based on biological sex if required by federal legislation or oversight.
President Trump’s Feb. 5 executive order requires schools and other institutions that receive federal funding to bar male-born athletes from female sports.
Ms. Turner, who said she has devoted 7,000 hours to her sport and $100,000 in lessons and competition expenses, took issue with the argument that skill is the only factor in determining fencing success.
“Athleticism is powerful in fencing and works in equal parts with strategy and technique,” she said. “It’s unbelievably demeaning to female fencers to put down the differences between men and women and any woman’s loss to a man as a ‘skill issue’ or that a woman simply needs to work harder.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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