‘She’s a Heroine’: Megyn Praises Female Fencer DQ’d After Refusing to Compete Against ‘Trans’ Competitor

A female athlete took a stand – or, in this case, a knee – against biological men being allowed to compete in women’s sports and was disqualified for it.

A now-viral video shows the moment fencer Stephanie Turner removed her mask and dropped to her knee in front of her transgender opponent rather than fight against him at a recent USA Fencing competition in Maryland. Turner was subsequently DQ’d from the event for refusing to compete.

On Thursday’s show, Megyn was joined by The Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles to discuss the reaction to Turner’s decision and why she is a “heroine.”

The Controversy 

The Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) posted a video on X on Wednesday from USA Fencing’s Cherry Blossom Open hosted at the University of Maryland over the weekend, in which Turner forfeited her bout against trans athlete Redmond Sullivan. The footage has been viewed over 5 million times.

Both Turner and Sullivan were competing in the Division IA Women’s Foil on Sunday, but Turner immediately took a knee upon the start. She was issued a black card – which is given for serious rule infractions or unsportsmanlike behavior – by the referee for refusing to compete, resulting in her expulsion from the event.

According to ICONS, Sullivan fenced for the men’s team at Wagner College before switching to the women’s team where he has performed much better. Turner told Fox News Digital she made her decision the night before the competition. “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,'” she shared. “I knew what I had to do because USA Fencing had not been listening to women’s objections regarding [its trans policy].”

Turner said her opponent was initially confused by her action. “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,'” she recalled. “Redmond didn’t hear me, and he comes up to me, and he thinks that I may be hurt, or he doesn’t understand what’s happening… And I said, ‘I’m sorry. I have much love and respect for you, but I will not fence you.”

Turner told Fox News she had to explain her decision to the bout committee, who handed her a copy of the association’s transgender policy and made her sign a document acknowledging the black card. Turner said she signed the document under objection and was escorted from the venue.

A USA Fencing spokesperson also told Fox News Digital Turner was not penalized for her position on the trans policy, but rather for refusing to fence. “In the case of Stephanie Turner, her disqualification was not related to any personal statement but was merely the direct result of her decision to decline to fence an eligible opponent, which the FIE [International Fencing Federation] rules clearly prohibit,” the spokesperson said.

Article t.113 of the FIE Technical Rules stipulates a fencer cannot refuse to fence another properly entered fencer for any reason. USA Fencing enacted its current transgender and non-binary athlete policy in 2023 “based on the principle that everyone should have the ability to participate in sports and was based upon the research available of the day.”

‘She’s a Heroine’

Megyn said there is only one way to describe Turner. “She is a heroine. That took a lot of guts and God only knows how hard she worked right to get to this point,” she said. “Shame on USA Fencing… and shame on [Sullivan] for cheating because he knows full well he went through male puberty, has full male advantage, and that he is stealing the medals.”

She said it is yet another example of biological women getting the short end of the stick. “The only sympathetic characters in this entire thing, as is typical, are the actual, real women who are left with nothing but bad choices when they get faced with a guy like this,” Megyn added.

In Knowles’ view, Turner made the difficult, albeit right, choice for several reasons. “This woman was not only principled to take a stand here, but she was also just prudent,” he noted. “No a woman should not be putting herself in a situation where she is engaged in any kind of physical activity, up to and including fencing with men.”

This issue, he said, is bigger than sports. “What I care about is justice. That is why conservatives are focusing on this issue. It is unjust to subject women to these competitions with men where they could get traumatic brain injuries, as we saw in the volleyball competition,” Knowles explained. “It is also unjust to take women’s trophies away, and it is certainly unjust to take women’s university scholarships away.”

While Knowles admitted he doesn’t follow women’s sports, he said they need to be defended. “I am never going to watch women’s fencing ever, but women ought to have the right to their sports leagues,” he concluded. “And we as citizens have the right to insist upon justice. If we don’t, then what is the point of the government?”

You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Knowles by tuning in to episode 1,041 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.