On March 30, fencer Stephanie Turner was disqualified from the Cherry Blossom Open, a minor Division I-A tournament in Maryland, for kneeling and refusing to compete against her opponent, college fencer Red Sullivan, who is a trans woman. The incident was recorded and immediately posted to Twitter; shortly afterward, Turner participated in an interview with Fox News, stating, "I looked at the ref and I said, '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.'" The referee then gave Turner, who is 31 years old, a black card for refusing to fence, in accordance with the International Fencing Federation rules, which was later upheld by USA Fencing. Sullivan, who is 19 and a self-described "mid" competitor, went on to place 24th out of 39 fencers at the competition, winning two out of her six bouts.
The incident has predictably ballooned far outside of the original event's scope or results. J.K. Rowling, whose primary vocation nowadays is spamming posts about trans issues on Twitter, quote-tweeted the video with "What a heroine looks like." After stating that her stunt would temporarily ruin her life, Turner received a $5,000 "Courage Wins Champions" prize from XX-XY Athletics, a sportswear brand centered around "protecting women's sports." Most eye-wateringly, on Tuesday, Congresswoman and DOGE subcommittee chair Marjorie Taylor Greene announced a hearing on USA Fencing's policy allowing trans women to compete in women's events, and invited Turner to testify. The hearing is scheduled for May 7.
There are glaring, obvious discrepancies in Turner's accounts. In her initial interview with Fox News, she stated that she did not participate in tournaments with transgender athletes, but that "for this one, [Sullivan] must have signed up after me." Turner has historically competed in mixed tournaments common to fencing, including the Swarthmore College Phoenix Cup just one week prior to the Cherry Blossom Open, where she placed eighth out of 32 entrants. The Cherry Blossom Open itself is a minor regional event. But pointing out obvious lies or hypocrisy is useless in the face of the extremely profitable anti-trans grift industry, which perseveres irrespective of facts. No matter how small the competition or minor the opponent, a calculated and recorded show of kneeling can be easily converted into an equally calculated show of government testimony.
Sullivan's own observations summarize the matter succinctly. In an interview with Rolling Stone, she said, "I was bewildered—flabbergasted, even," and recalled saying, "Bro, what," after hearing Turner's remarks at the event; after Turner's refusal to compete, she knew she was "cooked." Sullivan accurately observed, "There are a million things more important than to talk about a silly little fencing tournament in Maryland."
Turner's actions do not suggest she has much interest in the sport of fencing. Her USA Fencing–instituted probation does not at all bar her from competition, but she announced in a Fox News exclusive that she would be taking a break from fencing anyway. Instead, she "will remain in the public eye for as long as it takes to resolve this," with "this" being a situation that was fully resolved as soon as USA Fencing upheld her black card. But what does that matter? As a reward for shoving a young college athlete into an unwanted spotlight, Turner has received a career.
