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The pistillate fencer who was disqualified for refusing to look a trans jock has revealed her hostile warned her that she would beryllium thrown retired of the tournament.
USA's Stephanie Turner was suspended from a competition at the University of Maryland this week aft taking a genu and walking retired of her lucifer against Redmond Sullivan, who is simply a biologic male.
Despite outrage connected societal media, USA Fencing has supported its determination to disqualify Turner successful a connection backing Sullivan and transgender information successful the sport.
Turner, meanwhile, has taken purpose astatine the governing assemblage for 'not listening to women's objections' astir warring a trans opponent.
The fencing prima besides revealed that Sullivan warned her she would get 'blackcarded' erstwhile she took a genu and refused to look her.
'Redmond says to me, "Well you know, determination is simply a subordinate connected the committee of directors present who supports me, and determination is simply a argumentation that acknowledges maine arsenic a woman, truthful I americium allowed to fence, and you volition get blackcarded," and I said, "I know,"' Turner recalled.
Trans fencer Redmond Sullivan (pictured) warned her hostile that she would beryllium disqualified from a Maryland tourney earlier she refused to look her
USA's Stephanie Turner took a genu and walked retired of her scheduled lucifer against Sullivan
She besides explained however Sullivan was initially near confused by her protest.
'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. I took a genu instantly astatine that point. Redmond [Sullivan] was nether the content that I was going to commencement fencing.
'So erstwhile I took the knee, I looked astatine the ref and I said: "I'm sorry, I cannot bash this. I americium a woman, and this is simply a man, and this is simply a women's tournament. And I volition not obstruction this individual."
'Redmond didn't perceive me, and helium comes up to me, and helium thinks that I whitethorn beryllium hurt, oregon helium doesn't recognize what's happening. He asks: "Are you OK?" And I said: "I'm sorry. I person overmuch emotion and respect for you, but I volition not obstruction you."'
Social media is successful uproar implicit USA Fencing's determination to disqualify Turner and let Sullivan to spell connected and decorativeness 24th retired of 39 successful the competition.
However, the governing assemblage insists it was lone pursuing protocol aft the fencer refused to vie against an 'eligible opponent'.
Its connection read: 'USA Fencing enacted our existent transgender and non-binary jock argumentation successful 2023. The argumentation was designed to grow entree to the athletics of fencing and make inclusive, harmless spaces.
'The argumentation is based connected the rule that everyone should person the quality to enactment successful sports and was based upon the probe disposable of the day.
Turner was subsequently thrown retired of the tourney aft refusing to look the trans athlete
'We recognize that the speech connected equity and inclusion pertaining to transgender information successful athletics is evolving. USA Fencing volition ever err connected the broadside of inclusion, and we're committed to amending the argumentation arsenic much applicable evidence-based probe emerges, oregon arsenic argumentation changes instrumentality effect successful the wider Olympic and Paralympic movement.
'We respect the viewpoints connected each sides and promote our members to proceed sharing them with america arsenic the substance evolves. It's important for the fencing assemblage to prosecute successful this dialogue, but we expect this speech to beryllium conducted respectfully, whether astatine our tournaments oregon successful online spaces. The mode to advancement is by respectful treatment based successful evidence.
'In the lawsuit of Stephanie Turner, her disqualification was not related to immoderate idiosyncratic connection but was simply the nonstop effect of her determination to diminution to obstruction an eligible opponent, which the FIE [International Fencing Federation] rules intelligibly prohibit.
'USA Fencing is obligated to travel the missive of those rules and guarantee that participants respect the standards acceptable astatine the planetary level. We stay committed to inclusivity wrong our athletics portion besides upholding each request dictated by our governing body.'
English (US) ·