Tennis legend Martina Navratilova 'fuming' after female fencer punished for refusing to take on trans athlete

Tennis fable Martina Navratilova slammed USA Fencing aft a pistillate fencer took a genu erstwhile she refused to vie against a transgender jock astatine an lawsuit implicit the weekend.

Stephanie Turner made the determination not to vie against trans jock Redmond Sullivan astatine the Cherry Blossom Open successful Maryland. Instead, she decided to instrumentality a knee. The referee dealt Turner a achromatic card, which represents the astir terrible punishment successful the sport. She told Fox News Digital she was past escorted retired of the lawsuit and was made to motion a papers acknowledging the penalty.

The infinitesimal went viral connected societal media connected Wednesday, and Navratilova, who has go a champion of fairness successful women’s sports, weighed in.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

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

"This is what happens erstwhile pistillate athletes protest! Anyone present inactive thinks this is fair??? I americium fuming… and shame connected @USAFencing, shame connected you for doing this. How situation you propulsion women nether the sex bulls--- bus!!!" she wrote connected X.

Former NCAA fencer Juliana Peceli besides weighed in.

"As a retired D1 @NCAA fencer, I was forced to vie against men who claimed to beryllium women. Female athletes dedicate our lives to our sport, lone to person men instrumentality our spots, our titles, and our future," she wrote connected X.

"Kudos to the women who garbage to judge this injustice."

USA Fencing responded to the incidental successful a connection to Fox News Digital.

"USA Fencing enacted our existent transgender and non-binary jock argumentation successful 2023. The argumentation was designed to grow entree to the athletics of fencing and make inclusive, harmless spaces. The argumentation is based connected the rule that everyone should person the quality to enactment successful sports and was based upon the probe disposable of the day," the connection read.

"We respect the viewpoints connected each sides and promote our members to proceed sharing them with america arsenic the substance evolves. It's important for the fencing assemblage to prosecute successful this dialogue, but we expect this speech to beryllium conducted respectfully, whether astatine our tournaments oregon successful online spaces. The mode to advancement is by respectful treatment based successful evidence."

A USA Fencing spokesperson besides told Fox News Digital that Turner was not penalized for her stance against trans inclusion, but simply for refusing to fence. 

Martina Navratilova successful a associated property league with Chris Evert connected time 5 of the GNP Saguaros WTA Finals Cancun successful Cancun, Mexico, connected Nov. 2, 2023. (Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports)

WOMEN'S FENCER OPENS UP ON REFUSING TO FACE TRANSGENDER OPPONENT, ACCEPTING PUNISHMENT AND BACKLASH

"In the lawsuit of Stephanie Turner, her disqualification was not related to immoderate idiosyncratic connection but was simply the nonstop effect of her determination to diminution to obstruction an eligible opponent, which the FIE rules intelligibly prohibit," the spokesperson said.

"According to the FIE (International Fencing Federation) Technical Rules, specifically Article t.113, a fencer is not permitted to garbage to obstruction different decently entered fencer for immoderate reason. Under these rules, specified a refusal results successful disqualification and the corresponding sanctions. This argumentation exists to support just contention standards and sphere the sport’s integrity."

Turner told Fox News Digital she was a lifelong Democrat, but the thought of having biologic males successful women’s sports ne'er sat close with her. She said she identifies arsenic a "new Republican conservative."

Fencer Stephanie Sullivan kneels successful beforehand of a USA Fencing official. (Courtesy of ICONS)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"I voted reddish down the summons this year," Turner said. "It was similar waking up to the lies of the mainstream media… Just to ticker truthful galore of my friends person this glassy-eyed look portion conscionable defending this argumentation due to the fact that their brains tin not negociate the anticipation that their enactment oregon their presumption has been incorrect connected this, and possibly this isn't a civilian rights movement, and they person been misled."

Fox News’ Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports sum connected X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.