You’ve probably seen the clip by now. It’s grainy, filmed from the sidelines of a gymnasium, and shows a woman in full white fencing whites dropping to one knee right as a match is supposed to start. No, she wasn't tying her shoe. She wasn't injured.
When female fencer takes a knee, it usually sparks a firestorm of "whys" and "how dares." This wasn't the NFL sidelines or a high-profile Olympic podium in the way we usually imagine. It happened at the Cherry Blossom Open in Maryland, and the woman at the center of it is Stephanie Turner.
Fencing is a sport of rigid etiquette. You salute the opponent. You salute the referee. You put on the mask and you fight. Breaking that flow is a massive deal in the fencing world. When Turner knelt on March 30, 2025, she wasn't just catching her breath—she was effectively ending her tournament on purpose.
What Actually Happened at the Cherry Blossom Open?
Stephanie Turner, a 31-year-old competitive fencer, was slated to face Redmond Sullivan in the women’s foil event. Sullivan is a transgender athlete who had previously competed in men's events before transitioning.
Turner didn't just stumble into this. She knew the bracket. She saw the name the night before and, according to her own accounts, spent the night in a bit of an emotional wreck. She eventually decided she wasn't going to fence.
The moment the match was called, she walked onto the strip, took a knee, and took off her mask. She told the referee point-blank: "I am a woman, and this is a man. This is a women’s tournament, and I will not fence this individual."
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The Immediate Fallout
The referee didn't have much of a choice. In fencing, if you refuse to fence a properly registered opponent, you get a black card.
That’s basically the "nuclear option" of fencing penalties. It’s not a warning. It’s an immediate disqualification from the entire event. Your results are wiped. You’re often told to leave the venue. Turner knew this was coming. She took the card, took her gear, and became the face of a massive national debate over fairness and inclusion in sports.
Why This Female Fencer Takes a Knee Now
This isn't just about one match in Maryland. It’s about a policy shift that’s been brewing for years. USA Fencing adopted a new transgender and non-binary athlete policy in 2023. Their goal? Inclusion. They wanted to make sure everyone had a place on the strip.
But for athletes like Turner, that "inclusion" felt like a betrayal of the female category. She later testified before a House subcommittee, saying she felt "defrauded" and "sold a lie."
- Biological differences: Turner and her supporters argue that years of male puberty provide advantages in lung capacity and explosive speed that shouldn't be in a women's bracket.
- The Safety Factor: While foil is a "light" weapon, fencing is still a combat sport. There are genuine concerns among some athletes about physical safety when mismatched in size or power.
- Policy Gaps: Some feel the current rules don't take enough evidence-based research into account before opening categories.
Honestly, the fencing community is split right down the middle on this. On one side, you have people who think Turner was being "performative" or "selfish." They argue that if she didn't want to fence, she should have just stayed home or withdrawn quietly. By taking a knee on the strip, she made it a spectacle.
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On the other side, supporters say the spectacle was the whole point. You don't change a massive organization like USA Fencing by sending a polite email. You do it by making people look at the problem.
A History of the Knee on the Piste
Taking a knee in fencing isn't actually new, but the reason usually is. Usually, when we talk about a female fencer takes a knee, we might be thinking of the 2019 Pan American Games.
Back then, it was Race Imboden (a male fencer, but the act is the same) who knelt on the podium to protest racism and gun violence. He got a year of probation for it.
The gesture itself—kneeling—has become a universal symbol for "I disagree with the status quo." In Turner’s case, she repurposed a gesture that was popularized by civil rights protests to argue for what she calls "protected spaces" for women. It’s a fascinating, and highly controversial, use of the same imagery for a completely different political end.
The Legal and Political Ripples
This isn't just staying in the gym. Since Turner’s protest, the "avalanche" she mentions has actually started moving.
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- DOGE Subcommittee Testimony: Turner took her case to Washington D.C., testifying at a hearing titled "Unfair Play: Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports."
- Internal Lawsuits: The drama inside USA Fencing is intense. Two directors actually sued six other board members, alleging that the board chair made false statements to Congress about the situation.
- Policy Changes: In July 2025, the USOPC (United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee) released new safety guidelines following a federal executive order. This has forced almost every national governing body, including fencing, to rethink how they handle the female category.
What This Means for the Future of Fencing
If you're a fencer or a parent of one, things are changing. USA Fencing is under a microscope. They’ve had to defend their 2023 policy while facing a massive "Fair Fencing" movement led by athletes and coaches.
Some suggest creating "Open" categories where anyone can compete, while keeping the "Women's" category strictly for those assigned female at birth. Others think that's just a way to segregate and exclude.
What's clear is that the "silent" athlete is a thing of the past. Whether you agree with Stephanie Turner or not, her decision to kneel ensured that the conversation can't be ignored.
Actionable Insights for Athletes and Clubs
If you’re navigating these waters in your own local club or division, here is how the landscape is shifting:
- Review the Handbooks: Most national governing bodies (NGBs) are updating their inclusion policies quarterly right now. Don't rely on last year’s rules.
- Understand the Penalties: The "Black Card" for refusal to fence is still a very real thing. If you're planning a protest, know that it will almost certainly end your participation in that tournament immediately.
- Engage in the Dialogue: Organizations like the Independent Council for Women's Sports (ICONS) and various trans-advocacy groups are the main players here. If you want your voice heard, these are the channels currently influencing the USOPC.
The debate over when and why a female fencer takes a knee isn't going to vanish. As the 2026 season approaches, all eyes are on the rulebooks to see if they’ll bend or break under the pressure of athletes who refuse to stay on the strip.
To stay ahead of these changes, check the latest USA Fencing Board of Directors meeting minutes, as they are now required to post updates regarding the "Task Force on Women’s Sports" every 60 days. This is where the actual rule changes—not just the headlines—will happen first.