USA Fencing makes dramatic policy change months after female fencer protested facing a trans rival
The governing body's board of directors agreed on the decision following months of criticism over a female fencer who was infamously punished for refusing to face a transgender opponent earlier this year.
Stephanie Turner, 31, was competing in a tournament at the University of Maryland back in April when she took a knee and walked out of her match against trans rival Redmond Sullivan, who was born a man.
After refusing to compete, Turner was issued a 'blackcard' by fencing officials - which suspended her from the competition. The controversial decision has sparked outrage on social media among users left dismayed by a female athlete being punished for choosing not to line up against a biological male.
Despite the uproar, USA Fencing issued a statement justifying its decision while supporting Sullivan, 20, and the inclusion of trans athletes in women's sports.
In the wake of that controversy, which saw woke pro-trans chairman Damien Lehfeldt scrutinized by federal lawmakers at a congressional hearing last month, USA Fencing's directors voted the changes surrounding LGBTQ-friendly sites and the national anthem at a board meeting last Saturday, reports Fox News.
USA Fencing announced in an official statement that it has 'adopted a streamlined policy that applies criteria prioritizing cost, safety and convenience to every national-event bid across all 50 states.' The new policy is said to ensure host cities meet 'stringent member-safety and cost-efficiency standards.'
The previous host site policy gave preference to cities without laws that 'harm members of the LGBTQ communities' and states that do not 'have laws undermining the reproductive health of women'.
States on the 'do not allow' list included Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.
The tweaked national anthem policy, which will go into effect at the 2025 Summer Nationals and be reviewed annually, will 'provide consistent, respectful minimum guidance for honoring the flag and anthem across nine annual tournaments.'
In December of last year, the board saw a vote to play the national anthem at the start of tournaments voted down.
However, USA Fencing said in a statement to Fox News: 'The anthem has always been played at the start of every national tournament. The Board simply wrote that long‑standing practice into policy and added that it will also be played on any U.S. holiday that occurs during an event, such as Independence Day, which falls during our upcoming Summer Nationals.'
Weeks after Turner took a knee instead of face a trans rival, Lehfeldt - the controversial chairman of USA Fencing - endured a brutal interrogation by lawmakers over his stance on transgender athletes, including why he once compared concerned parents to the Ku Klux Klan.
The incident involving Turner shone a light on Lehfeldt, who previously wrote in a blog post that 'transgender women are women' and '(they) deserve the right to compete with the gender they identify with.'
Since returning to office, however, Donald Trump has signed an executive order entitled 'Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports'.
On May 7, both Turner and Lehfeldt appeared at a hearing involving a Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE). The hearing was shown a photo, apparently posted on social media by Lehfeldt, in which he made a profane two-finger gesture at the camera with the caption 'Game day'.
He was grilled by lawmakers including chairwoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, with his governing body accused of 'ignoring science' and putting 'politics ahead of women and the law.'
Greene pressed him on why USA Fencing's 'site selection policy' for tournaments takes into account an area's policies on abortion and LGBT rights.
'We try to have tournaments in sites that are safe for all of our members. Period,' he said.
But Lehfeldt refused to answer whether he would 'want (his) daughter to change in front of biological men in locker rooms? Yes or no.'
The chairman responded to Greene: 'My daughter isn't really something that should be part of this hearing, respectfully.'
Greene later posted a clip of the incident on social media and wrote: 'He couldn't say 'NO.' That tells you EVERYTHING. These people have lost all common sense.'
Turner, meanwhile, claimed she was left feeling 'isolated and strangled' by USA Fencing, having spent '7,000 hours training and over $100,000' on her fencing career.
Lehfeldt eventually said the organization would comply with law changes regarding transgender athletes in women's sports.
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