Riley Gaines praises 'heroine' fencer Stephanie Turner for refusing to compete against trans opponent

Right earlier a lucifer against a transgender opponent, fencer Stephanie Turner took a genu and forefeited her match.

Ahead of a bout astatine the Cherry Blossom Open successful Maryland implicit the weekend, Turner, 31, decided not to vie against trans jock Redmond Sullivan.

It was a determination Riley Gaines supported, calling Turner a "heroine."

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Women's fencer Stephanie Turner kneels successful protestation successful beforehand of transgender jock Redmond Sullivan (Courtesy of Icons)

"Isn't it astonishing however simply this tin beryllium explained? The different broadside likes to accidental this is complex, it's a analyzable issue. Stephanie Turner is simply a heroine successful my eyes," Gaines told "America's Newsroom." 

"This was astatine a inferior women's Olympic qualifying event. So, it's a truly large deal. These aren't scrubs. This is the pinnacle of their athletics astatine this point. I commend her for taking this measure. It's not casual to do, yet deciding to boycott. But it's the astir effectual mode to accidental capable is enough."

Gaines, who swam 4 years astatine the University of Kentucky, including against Penn's Lia Thomas, past took a changeable astatine the NCAA.

"The NCAA has continued to deceive the American people, and they've deceived President Trump successful this. … The NCAA is repeatedly rewarding the replacement of women successful bid to champion men and women's sport, which is precisely wherefore myself and astir 19 different plaintiffs are suing the NCAA.

Fencer Stephanie Turner kneels successful beforehand of a USA Fencing official (Courtesy of Icons)

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"When they usage the connection inclusion, what they truly mean is exclusion. And the radical they are excluding are women."

Turner made her determination to forfeit the nighttime earlier the lawsuit erstwhile she checked the contention pools and saw that she would beryllium facing Sullivan, whom she had work astir successful an nonfiction past year. 

"I knew what I had to bash due to the fact that USA Fencing had not been listening to women's objections regarding [its sex eligibility policy]," Turner said. "I took a genu instantly astatine that point. Redmond was nether the content that I was going to commencement fencing. So, erstwhile I took the knee, I looked astatine the ref, and I said, ‘I’m sorry, I cannot bash this. I americium a woman, and this is simply a man. And this is simply a women's tournament. And I volition not obstruction this individual.'"

Minutes later, the referees issued Turner a achromatic card, the sport's astir terrible penalty, starring to her ejection from the tournament.

Fencer Stephanie Turner kneels earlier a USA Fencing official (Courtesy of Icons)

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A USA Fencing spokesperson told Fox News Digital Turner was not penalized for her stance against trans inclusion. Instead, she was punished for refusing to compete. 

Fox News' Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

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