Alert – Stephanie Turner awarded $5k for taking a knee against trans rival in fencing competition last month

The female fencer who refused to compete against a transgender opponent last month has received an award and a payday for taking a bold stance.

Stephanie Turner was set to battle with Redmond Sullivan at a USA Fencing tournament on March 30, but took a knee in protest and said she wouldn’t be competing.

She was subsequently shown a black card at the tournament, held at the University of Maryland, which signifies that a player is immediately excluded from the competition and suspended for the remainder of it.

The incident propelled Turner into the center of the huge debate around trans athletes in sport – she spoke exclusively to Daily Mail about her concerns over speaking on the issue in the past – and on Monday, learned that she has gained a powerful ally.

The increasingly influential XX-XY Athletics, which calls itself ‘the only athletic brand that stands up for women’s sports,’ awarded Turner with the Courage Wins Award and announced she would receive a $5,000 prize as well as admittance into a leadership program.

‘By taking a knee, she became more powerful than any male. She stood her ground to fight for women’s sports,’ XX-XY Athletics founder Jennifer Sey said in a press release. ‘She’s a hero.’

Stephanie Turner, 31, took a knee and walked out of her match against a transgender rival

Turner was disqualified from her tournament after taking a knee and refusing to compete

Turner was slated to compete agaisnt Redmond Sullivan, a transgender woman 

Sey continued: ‘We aim to take the sting out of monetary cancelation and platform these women and bring them on board. They have community. They have support. They will not stand alone.’

The previous winner of the award was Sia Liilii, who led her University of Nevada volleyball team to boycott a game against San Jose State University when she discovered they were fielding a trans player in Blaire Fleming. 

The company, who also boasts anti-trans activist Riley Gaines as an ambassador, is named after the male (XX) and female (XY) chromosomes.

It says on its website: ‘We are here to protect women’s sports and spaces. Women deserve the opportunities that sports and single sex spaces provide. Sex matters. It is the single biggest determinant of athletic performance. It is unfair and dangerous to allow males (XY) to compete in girls and women’s (XX) sports.

‘For women to compete safely and fairly, women’s sports need to remain female. We’ll be here defending truth. And women and girls. Until that happens.’

When Turner refused to compete against Sullivan, she told her: ‘I am sorry. I have a lot of love and respect for you, but I will not fence you. 

USA Fencing later released a statement saying that Turner’s disqualification was ‘not related to any personal statement,’ but instead ‘the direct result of her decision to decline to fence an eligible opponent, which the FIE [International Fencing Federation] rules clearly prohibit.

Nonetheless, the statement strongly defended transgender inclusion in the sport.

Turner immediately took a knee and removed her mask instead of facing Sullivan

‘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 organization said.

‘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. 

‘We understand that the conversation on equity and inclusion pertaining to transgender participation in sport is evolving.

‘USA Fencing will always err on the side of inclusion, and we’re committed to amending the policy as more relevant evidence-based research emerges, or as policy changes take effect in the wider Olympic & Paralympic movement.’

In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, Turner revealed she had been scared to reach out to USA Fencing with her concerns, given the pro-trans views of high-ranking officials within the governing body. 

‘I was like, I don’t even want to reach out because if I do, then I won’t ever have a fair bout in my life.

‘There are a lot of people who are for this [trans athletes in women’s sports] who are referees. 

‘I would lose favor within the sight of referees and I could end up with a biased bout. I could lose friends who I don’t know what their position is on this.

‘So what I was doing already was just avoiding tournaments where I knew there was a transgender fencer. But at this point, what else should I do? Should I just not sign up for any tournaments? I have no other options.’

Sullivan, who switched from Wagner College’s men’s team to it’s women’s squad last year, ultimately placed 24th out of 39 in the competition.

Days later, there was another athlete protesting having to compete against a trans opponent, when disc golfer Abigail Wilson walked out of her tournament in Nashville, Tennessee last Friday. 

She stepped up to compete but pretended to take her shot before turning round to face the crowd and shouting: ‘Females must be protected in our division. This is unfair. I refuse to play.’

Wilson underlined her position later on Friday, sharing the footage in a lengthy caption that finished with her saying: ‘Today I most likely ended my career and that is okay because this is bigger than me.’

Explaining her overall position, Wilson wrote: ‘Today I refused to play at the Music City Open. Females deserve to have their gender protected division be protected. This is unfair.

‘I have worked so hard to get to this point to play on the DGPT, but the sacrifice of my career and my hard work is worth it if it means I can make a difference for other women, daughters, nieces, and the future of our sport.’

The issue of trans athletes competing in women’s sports has been further amplified since President Trump signed an executive order in February which banned trans women from competing in women’s competitions.

President Donald Trump holds up a signed executive order banning transgender girls and women from participating in women’s sports

Abigail Wilson refused to face a trans opponent at a disc golf event in Nashville, Tennessee

Wilson was protesting at having to play against openly trans athlete Natalie Ryan 

‘The radical left has waged an all-out campaign to erase the very concept of biological sex and replace it with a militant transgender ideology,’ Trump said at the White House as he announced the move. 

‘With this executive order, the war on women’s sports is over.’

The order has threatened that schools that do not comply could lose federal funding, and that came to fruition last month as the University of Pennsylvania saw $175million in federal funding frozen.

In 2022, transgender swimmer Lia Thomas gained national attention for her participation and success on the women’s team, as she set numerous records.

Nonetheless, NCAA  President Charlie Baker told a Senate committee last year that he was aware of fewer than 10 transgender athletes within the college ranks.