EXCLUSIVE: Women’s fencer Stephanie Turner’s protest kneel against Redmond Sullivan will be her last memory on the strip, for a while.
The 31-year-old Maryland native is stepping away from the sport after being dealt a 12-month probation by USA Fencing over her recent refusal to fence Sullivan at the Cherry Blossom Open on March 30.
Turner knelt on camera, refusing to fence because Sullivan is a trans athlete. Turner was then dealt a black card and escorted out. The footage of her kneeling sparked so much attention that it prompted a federal investigation into USA Fencing.
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USA Fencing has now confirmed to Fox News Digital that Turner is under probation for the next 12 months after receiving a black card for the forfeit. She can still compete in events under the probation but is choosing not to.
“I’m going to be taking a break from fencing for a while in the U.S. circuit, so that’s a little bit of a disruption for me… It has disrupted my training, it has disrupted my interactions when I go out in public, and it will certainly disrupt my competition because I won’t be competing in the United States any time soon,” she told Fox News Digital when asked if her expectation that taking the knee would “destroy her life,” came true.
Instead, Turner will focus on her new mission in the movement to ban trans athletes from women’s sports.
“I will remain in the public eye for as long as it takes to resolve this,” she said.
Her recent interactions with friends have been difficult, saying she now gets “dirty looks” from them, and some do not even look at her at all. Turner previously told Fox News Digital that some of her friends were in the “LGBT” community and did not know she believed biologically male trans athletes should not compete in women’s sports.
“I’m aware of some of the negative comments that my friends have had, I’m mindful to give them enough space, but I’m sure that, in the future, considering I believe this policy and this ideology to be unsustainable, they’ll come around eventually,” Turner said.
However, one of Turner’s biggest concerns has not come to fruition. After footage of the kneeling was first released, she previously told Fox News Digital she was worried about losing her job.
That has not happened.
Turner’s kneel has instead called into question the job security of other individuals, after widespread backlash against USA Fencing and even potential government sanctions.
President Donald Trump’s administration has launched an investigation into the situation, which will be carried out by the newly-formed federal Title IX investigations team in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Education.
“The nation watched as a female competitor bravely took a knee and forfeited an inherently unfair fencing match after discovering that her opponent was a male,” Education spokeswoman Julie Hartman told Fox News Digital. “The Trump Administration’s Department of Education and the Department of Justice’s Title IX Special investigations team will not allow recipients of federal funding to deny women’s equal opportunity protections under the law.”
USA Fencing has told Fox News Digital that it is willing to cooperate in the investigation.
Turner will look to mount the federal pressure on the organization as well while she is not competing.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Tuesday announced a hearing addressing USA Fencing’s gender eligibility policies and the incident involving Turner and Redmond. Turner says she will be attending to testify against USA Fencing.
“I don’t envy the opposition,” Turner said.
“I hope the exposure to this issue that they have been desperately trying to cover up encourages them to change direction on the policy of allowing men in women’s sports… I don’t want to see anybody punished beyond resolving the policy and ensuring female exclusivity in women’s sports.”
Additionally, Turner plans to do whatever else is asked her of as a public figure to bring more public attention, and pressure to politicians, sports institutions, or anyone else fighting to keep trans athletes in women’s sports.
That even means making new friends with women’s sports rights activists, including Riley Gaines.
Turner will appear on OutKick’s “Gaines for Girls” podcast this week.
The episode will feature Turner arguing against the notion that males do not have a physical advantage in fencing, and she will open up to the woman who has directly influenced her current political beliefs.
As a former registered Democrat, Turner says the incident that made her first start to shift her political views to becoming a “new Republican conservative” was witnessing Gaines have to face biologically male trans swimmer Lia Thomas at the 2022 NCAA women’s swimming championships.
It was an incident that pushed Turner to the other side of the political spectrum, not just on that singular issue, but it made her question the Democrat platform on every other key issue as well.
“I became concerned about politicians deliberately lying to push a policy they knew would hurt women and girls, it made me wonder ‘how much else you could be lying to me about?’ So from there I turned much of my attention to media that was more conservative-leaning, and I find it I’m 1744800325 more favorable to their policies on economics, social issues, foreign policy and the border,” Turner said.
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Now, Turner will get to take part in conservative media herself, as she takes a central role in the cause she watched with passion from a distance, before hopping right into it in the past month.
“I’m excited about the future for the first time in women’s sports for a few years,” Turner said, crediting the movement. “I think it’s picking up speed, and we might see a resolution this year.”
Meanwhile, USA Fencing will likely face continued scrutiny from the public and federal arbitrators in the coming months after Turner’s viral stunt. However, the organization has so far defended its policies and the decision to put Turner on probation.
“Stephanie Turner’s black card was issued in accordance with the same policy and procedures that apply to all black cards at USA Fencing-sanctioned events. Under our rules, a black card results in a probationary period for 12 months — a standard action specified by our policy,” a USA Fencing spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
“This does not affect Ms. Turner’s membership status, and she remains eligible to compete in future tournaments. We treat every black card consistently, regardless of the circumstances leading to it, in line with USA Fencing’s established guidelines.”
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