Stephanie Turner, 31, refused to compete against a male opponent during a USA Fencing Event in Maryland.

Turner and the man, Redmond Sullivan, participated in the Division IA Women’s Foil.

Sullivan fenced for the male team at Wagner College last season. He switched to the female team this season

Turner took a knee and forfeited the match. From Fox News:

“I took a knee immediately at that point. Redmond was under the impression that I was going to start fencing. So when I took the knee, 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.’

“Redmond didn’t hear me, and he comes up to me, and he thinks that I may be hurt, or he doesn’t understand what’s happening. He asks, ‘Are you OK?’ And I said, ‘I’m sorry. I have much love and respect for you, but I will not fence you.”

The referee issued Turner a black card, the most severe penalty in fencing.

A black card means an expulsion from the competition. The fencer could face further sanctions.

A USA Fencing spokesperson said the punishment was for not fencing, not because of her stance against males in female sports:

“In the case of Stephanie Turner, her disqualification was not related to any personal statement but was merely the direct result of her decision to decline to fence an eligible opponent, which the FIE rules clearly prohibit,” the spokesperson said.

“According to the FIE (International Fencing Federation) Technical Rules, specifically Article t.113, a fencer is not permitted to refuse to fence another properly entered fencer for any reason. Under these rules, such a refusal results in disqualification and the corresponding sanctions. This policy exists to maintain fair competition standards and preserve the sport’s integrity.”

Turner told Fox News Digital she made the decision not to participate against Sullivan the night before:

Turner came to the decision the night before the event when she checked the competition pools and saw that she would be competing against Sullivan, whom she had read about in an article last year.

“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,’” Turner told Fox News Digital.

Turner went through all her warm-ups that day and went on to fence in four bouts before her matchup with the trans athlete. When it came, she was “nervous and shaky,” but was sure about her decision.

USA Fencing has no problem with males competing against females. The organization told Fox News:

“USA Fencing enacted our current transgender and non-binary athlete policy in 2023. The policy was designed to expand access to the sport of fencing and create inclusive, safe spaces. The policy is based on the principle that everyone should have the ability to participate in sports and was based upon the research available of the day,” the statement read.

“We respect the viewpoints on all sides and encourage our members to continue sharing them with us as the matter evolves. It’s important for the fencing community to engage in this dialogue, but we expect this conversation to be conducted respectfully, whether at our tournaments or in online spaces. The way to progress is by respectful discussion based in evidence.”

Turner acknowledged the sport’s attitude towards female participants. She also recounted how Sullivan responded to her: “Redmond says to me, ‘Well you know, there is a member on the board of directors here who supports me, and there is a policy that acknowledges me as a woman, so I am allowed to fence, and you will get blackcarded,’ and I said, ‘I know.”

Turner never registered for events with male participants. She believes Sullivan registered after she did, or else she would not have been there.

Turner is also another female who went blue to red due to the left’s obsession with allowing males in female sports and spaces.

The belief has remained hidden until now because Turner feared how her LGBT friends would treat her:

For Turner, one of the sacrifices she is most concerned about is impeding the friendships she has with people in the LGBT community, who she said don’t currently know about her stance on the issue.

As a lifelong Democrat, Turner insists she never opposed LGBTQ people. But the issue of trans inclusion of women’s sports has driven her away from supporting the party, and she now identifies as a “new Republican conservative.”

“I voted red down the ticket this year,” Turner said. “It was like waking up to the lies of the mainstream media… Just to watch so many of my friends have this glassy-eyed look while just defending this policy because their brains can not manage the possibility that their party or their position has been wrong on this, and perhaps this isn’t a civil rights movement, and they have been misled.”