WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) – Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is demanding answers from the American governing body for fencing after a female fencer was penalized for refusing to face a biological male in a recent competition.
As previously covered by LifeSiteNews, 31-year-old Stephanie Turner, who previously made a point of trying to evade tournaments in which she would have to face “transgender” fencers, found herself up against gender-confused male Redmond Sullivan at the Cherry Blossom Open in Maryland. She learned about the matchup the night before and made her decision how to handle it then.
After four matches against other women, she says, when the match came, “I took a knee immediately at that point. Redmond was under the impression that I was going to start fencing. So, when I took the knee, I looked at the ref and I 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 received a black card (the most serious penalty in fencing), was brought before the bout committee, and escorted out of the tournament.
On Tuesday, OutKick reported that it has obtained a letter from Cruz, Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, & Transportation Committee, to USA Fencing seeking information and answers about the continuation of its transgender policy despite the Trump administration rule.
To remain the sport’s national governing body, USA Fencing “must comply with United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee rules and procedures, its statutory obligations to protect women, and President Trump’s recent Executive Order (EO) on Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” Cruz warned. “If it does not, and instead continues to put women at risk, Congress may be forced to terminate USA Fencing’s NGB certification.”
In response, USA Fencing gave a statement to OutKick that does not directly reference the letter.
“USA Fencing enacted our current transgender and non-binary athlete policy in 2023,” the group said. “The policy was designed to expand access to the sport of fencing and create inclusive, safe spaces. The policy is based on the principle that everyone should have the ability to participate in sports and was based upon the research available of the day … 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 & Paralympic movement.”
Mandatory inclusion of gender-confused individuals in opposite-sex sports is promoted as a matter of “inclusivity,” but critics note that indulging “transgender” athletes undermines the original rational basis for having sex-specific athletics in the first place, thereby depriving female athletes of recognition and professional or academic opportunities.
There have been numerous high-profile examples in recent years of men winning women’s competitions, and research affirms that physiology gives males distinct athletic advantages that cannot be fully negated by hormone suppression.
In a 2019 paper published by the Journal of Medical Ethics, New Zealand researchers found that “healthy young men (do) not lose significant muscle mass (or power) when their circulating testosterone levels were reduced to (below International Olympic Committee guidelines) for 20 weeks,” and “indirect effects of testosterone” on factors such as bone structure, lung volume, and heart size “will not be altered by hormone therapy;” therefore, “the advantage to transwomen (biological men) afforded by the (International Olympic Committee) guidelines is an intolerable unfairness.”
Critics also argue that forcing girls to share intimate facilities such as bathrooms, showers, or changing areas with members of the opposite sex violates their privacy rights, subjects them to needless emotional stress, and gives potential male predators a viable pretext to enter female bathrooms or lockers by simply claiming transgender status.
Polls show that the LGBT lobby’s protests of victimhood and insistence the issue is overblown is not resonating with the general public. Last month, Pew Research found that 66% of Americans support limiting athletic participation to actual members of a team’s designated sex, with agreement among independents and Democrats also rising since 2022.
In the meantime, the women’s sporting fairness group XX-XY Athletics has given Turner its Courage Wins Champion award for her actions, Fox News reported.
“By taking a knee, she became more powerful than any male. She stood her ground to fight for women’s sports,” XX-XY Athletics founder Jennifer Sey said of the honor, which includes $5,000 and membership in a leadership program. “We aim to take the sting out of monetary cancelation and platform these women and bring them on board. They have community. They have support. They will not stand alone.”
