Trans fencer no longer on college team after cis opponent refused to play her

A trans fencer gained widespread attention when a cisgender opponent declined to compete against her and is no longer part of the women's team at Wagner College.

Wagner College confirmed to Fox News Digital that Redmond Sullivan is no longer on the team, a week after the incident at the Cherry Blossom Open tournament at the University of Maryland, according to ‘MSN’. Sullivan became the focus of a media storm when her opponent from the Fencing Academy of Philadelphia, Stephanie Turner, took off her mask and refused to compete at the start of their match, instead taking a knee.

Turner, who had completed four matches prior to facing Sullivan, was given a black card by the referee and disqualified from the women’s foil tournament. She was disqualified for breaching the International Fencing Federation (FIE) policy, which stipulates that a fencer cannot refuse to compete against a properly registered opponent for any reason.

USA Fencing’s policy, established in 2023, states that trans women can only participate in women’s events if they have undergone “one calendar year of testosterone-suppression treatment.”

According to the Daily Mail following her disqualification, Turner said, “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 added, “I knew what I had to do because USA Fencing had not been listening to women’s objections.”

After taking a knee, Turner reportedly told the referee: “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.” Turner further explained that when she took a knee, Sullivan approached to check if she was injured, and she responded: “I’m sorry, I have much love and respect for you, but I will not fence you.”

Following the incident, USA Fencing reinforced its trans-inclusive policy, emphasising that it does not tolerate hate speech or “targeted hate of any kind.”

A statement released on Thursday (April 3) read: “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 statement continued, noting that USA Fencing officials “understand there are a range of perspectives” regarding trans inclusion in sports and aims to “engage in respectful, research-based dialogue and review as policy evolves in the Olympic and Paralympic movement as well as domestic law.”

The statement added, “USA Fencing will always err on the side of inclusion and we’re committed to amending the policy as more-relevant evidence-based research emerges, or as policy changes take effect in the wider Olympic and Paralympic movement.”

The disqualification event occurred weeks after Donald Trump’s administration enacted an executive order to prohibit trans women from competing in female sports.

The order, signed by Trump at the start of February, declared: “In recent years, many educational institutions and athletic associations have allowed men to compete in women’s sports. This is demeaning, unfair and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.”

It continued to state that it will be the “policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity and truth.”

In response, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which oversees student athletics in the United States, announced almost immediately that female competition would be restricted to those assigned female at birth.