USA Fencing responds to federal investigation over transgender competitor incident

USA Fencing has acknowledged a forthcoming national probe into an incidental that occurred astatine 1 of its events wherever a women's fencer was punished for refusing to look a transgender competitor. 

The investigation, which volition beryllium carried retired by the newly-formed Title IX investigations squad successful conjunction with the U.S. Department of Education and Department of Justice, was announced connected Friday by Education Secretary Linda McMahon. 

The incident, which occurred astatine the Cherry Blossom Open successful Maryland connected March 30, saw pistillate fencer Stephanie Turner instrumentality a genu successful protestation of trans rival Redmond Sullivan. Turner was past disqualified from the lawsuit and escorted retired of the venue.

USA Fencing provided a connection to Fox News Digital saying it volition cooperate with the investigation. 

"USA Fencing volition respond and cooperate to immoderate enquiry arsenic required by law," the connection read. 

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The incidental involving Turner rapidly drew nationalist attraction aft a video of her taking a genu to protestation Sullivan went viral. The footage ignited wide consciousness and backlash against USA Fencing's sex eligibility policies. 

Turner told Fox News Digital that she came to the determination to instrumentality the genu the nighttime earlier the event, erstwhile she checked the contention pools and saw that she would beryllium competing against Sullivan.

"I saw that I was going to beryllium successful a excavation with Redmond, and from determination I said, ‘OK, let’s bash it. I'm going to instrumentality the knee,'" Turner said. "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]."

WHO IS STEPHANIE TURNER? WOMEN'S FENCER WHO KNELT TO PROTEST TRANS OPPONENT AND IGNITED GLOBAL AWARENESS

USA Fencing archetypal enacted its existent trans-inclusion argumentation successful 2023. It allows transgender athletes to vie successful the women's class astatine some the inferior and elder level aft completing one calendar twelvemonth of testosterone suppression treatment. Proof of compliant hormone therapy indispensable beryllium provided anterior to competition, but the enactment has taken adjacent further steps to prioritize its trans competitors. 

In November 2022, it announced a argumentation to springiness penchant erstwhile selecting big cities for nationalist tournaments to states without laws that "harm members of LGBTQ communities" and states that bash not "have laws undermining the reproductive wellness of women." That argumentation went into effect successful the 2023 season, the aforesaid twelvemonth it changed its sex policy. It aboriginal released a database of states that it intended to "avoid wherever possible" and the states that it level retired would not let hosting large events.

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This past December, a nonprofit fencing organization, the Fair Fencing Organization, penned an unfastened missive to USA Fencing Board Members urging the re-evaluation of its stance connected respective issues, including transgender inclusion. Just days later, however, committee members voted against respective motions to o.k. an all-female task unit to re-evaluate and revise the existent transgender policy, successful an 8-3 vote. 

Now, aft siding against women fencers seeking extortion from trans inclusion, USA Fencing faces imaginable national sanctions.

This Title IX probe volition beryllium 1 of the archetypal missions for the recently formed Title IX investigations team, which was officially formed past week. The inaugural was announced past Friday with the ngo to "protect pistillate athletes, from the pernicious effects of sex ideology successful schoolhouse programs and activities."

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