Fencer breaks silence for kneeling against trans | Sports News

Stephanie Turner, who refused to tackle trans rival Redmond Sullivan on the University of Maryland in The Cherry Blossom, has admitted she’s been scared to contact USA Fencing along with her issues. The 31-year-old took a knee against Sullivan, who was born a man, leading to a ‘black card’ by fencing officers and disqualification.

The incident has brought on mass outrage on each side of the argument, with Turner receiving assist from those that imagine that trans girls shouldn’t be in a position to compete in sports activities against organic girls. However, Turner has additionally been criticized for her actions, with Sullivan’s fencing group, Iconic Fencing Club, condemning her in an unique assertion to the Daily Express Sport US.

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova additionally expressed outrage over Turner’s choice to kneel and never interact Sullivan. However, chatting with Mail Online, Turner has damaged her silence, revealing she has been scared to strategy USA Fencing over fears she’ll be unfairly officiated and judged in her duels.

“I was like, I don’t even want to reach out because if I do, then I won’t ever have a fair bout in my life,” Turner informed the outlet. “There are a lot of people who are for this [trans athletes in women’s sports] who are referees.

“I’d lose favor within the sight of referees and I might finish up with a biased bout. I might lose buddies who I do not know what their place is on this. So what I used to be doing already was simply avoiding tournaments the place I knew there was a transgender fencer. But at this level, what else ought to I do? Should I simply not signal up for any tournaments? I’ve no different choices.”

Turner feels passionately about defending women’s rights in all sports, something sitting President Donald Trump has vowed to do in his second term. Trump promised to ban trans athletes from women’s sports. Turner says she doesn’t want the movement to be political but appears to criticize Democrats.

“This motion should not be political, however I do discover there’s one occasion that has been completely captured by radical politics, radical social politics which have acted as type of a litmus check to let me know whether or not a politician is prepared to lie simply to advance their own political profession,” she continued. “That simply opened the door for me to begin listening more to the opposite aspect, actually. Because when you’re prepared to misinform me and inform me that a man can turn into a girl, then I ponder what else might you be mendacity to me about?”

Damien Lehfeldt, an At-Large Director on the USA Fencing Board of Directors who runs a blog named ‘The Fencing Coach,’ has been a passionate defender of allowing trans women to compete in the gender with which they identify. The outlet names Lehfeldt as one of the high-ranking officials whom Turner has concerns over due to his pro-trans fencing stance.

DON’T MISS…

In a 2023 blog post, Lehfeldt wrote: “Transgender fencers deserve the appropriate to compete with the gender they establish with, and people of grownup age ought to adjust to the competitors pointers and laws outlined by USA Fencing and the IOC—even when the science [of] these IOC pointers could be imperfect.”

“There is a risk that transgender girls have a bodily benefit over their cisgender opponents after transitioning. There can also be a risk they don’t. In Fencing, there’s no knowledge to assist both viewpoint,” it continued. Speaking to Mail Online, Lehfeldt has welcomed respectful debate, including with Turner.

“I all the time welcome a nuanced and respectful debate, and that features Ms. Turner. Ms. Turner is welcome to her opinions. That’s the sweetness of discourse. We can come to the desk and conform to disagree,” he stated.