By Breitbart News Network | Created at 2025-04-04 20:57:50 | Updated at 2025-04-05 06:31:11
12 hours ago
USA Fencing is defending itself over its policy of including transgender fencers in the women’s category and for punishing a female athlete for refusing to face a trans opponent.
The fencing organization is defending itself after fencer Stephanie Turner took a knee and refused to compete during a match with transgender opponent Redmond Sullivan last weekend.
USA Fencing immediately disqualified Turner, who had kicked her out of the tournament.
“USA Fencing remains committed to fostering an inclusive, respectful community for everyone in our sport. We believe in the principle of creating safe communities where all athletes and community members have a place,” the organization’s statement read, according to Fox News.
“While we understand there are a range of perspectives, USA Fencing will continue to engage in respectful, research-based dialogue and review as policy evolves in the Olympic and Paralympic movement, as well as domestic law. Hate speech of any kind is not acceptable—online or in person. Let’s keep the conversation respectful and the strip welcoming to all,” the statement added.
USA Fencing’s transgender policy was implemented in 2023 and allows athletes who identify as transgender to play in the women’s category.
But the group’s woke policies go back farther than 2023. In 2022, a policy was created to give cities preference to host tournaments if they have no laws or rules that “harm members of LGBTQ communities.”
The group also released a list of states it would “avoid where possible” due to anti-LGBTQ policies. That list includes Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming, Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.
But the organization also added that some states are wholly blocked for hosting duties, including Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas.
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