After her dramatic forfeit at a regional fencing tournament, 31-year-old cisgender athlete Stephanie Turner is set to testify before Congress regarding her decision to refuse to compete against a transgender opponent.
The announcement came Tuesday from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who chairs the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE). Greene revealed that both Turner and USA Fencing chair Damien Lehfeldt will be appearing before the committee.
The announcement also misgendered Turner’s 19-year-old opponent, Redmond Sullivan, who competed in the women’s category, by referring to her as a “biological male.”
Turner first drew national attention in March when she took a knee instead of fencing Sullivan at the Cherry Blossom Open at the University of Maryland, prompting immediate disqualification. The incident has since been amplified by conservative media and figures, including the Independent Council on Women’s Sports and author J.K. Rowling, who hailed Turner as a “heroine.”
Greene praised Turner’s actions, stating: “Women’s sports are for women only. Radical leftists pushing to let biological men compete against women are destroying fair competition and putting female athletes in physical danger. Stephanie Turner had the courage to call out this insanity, and she’s a hero to women across America.”
The congresswoman also criticised USA Fencing, claiming the organisation was undermining women’s sports and violating an executive order from former President Donald Trump. “USA Fencing must be held accountable for demeaning women and denying them the chance to succeed in their own sport,” Greene said. “It is out of compliance… and should not be recognised as the National Governing Body for fencing if it continues to defy the law.”
While Turner and Lehfeldt will testify, Sullivan has not been invited. Lehfeldt is expected to defend the sport’s inclusive policy, which allows transgender athletes to compete in events sanctioned by USA Fencing.
Both the U.S. Department of Education and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton — now a U.S. Senate candidate — have launched investigations into USA Fencing following Turner’s protest and subsequent media attention.
In multiple Fox News interviews, Turner defended her stance, saying, “I am a woman, and I have an athletic disadvantage to men, so I compete in the women’s division, which is where I rightfully am.” However, critics pointed out she had recently competed in and won bouts at a co-ed tournament prior to forfeiting against Sullivan.
Turner also received a $5,000 cash prize and the title “Courage Wins Champion” from anti-trans sportswear brand XX-XY, a company known for opposing transgender participation in women’s sports.
Sullivan expressed shock over Turner’s actions. “I was bewildered — flabbergasted, even,” she told Rolling Stone. “Nothing close to this has ever happened. No one has ever had a problem with me fencing in a women’s event.”
She noted Turner had several options other than making a public protest: “She could have withdrawn herself from the tournament, or talked to the organisers… She actively chose to have this interaction and film it and then send it to people to post it.”
Sullivan also took issue with how she’s been misrepresented in the media. “It’s frustrating to see the same patently false narrative that sex is binary and immutable,” she said, adding that being labelled a “biological male” is deeply misleading.
She was particularly upset with figures like Rowling, Riley Gaines, and tennis legend Martina Navratilova — all of whom framed their opposition in feminist terms. Navratilova claimed on X that USA Fencing had thrown women “under the gender bullsh*t bus.”
“Feminism should include all women, including trans women,” Sullivan said. She described Navratilova as “morally bankrupt” for perpetuating the same kind of rhetoric that once targeted gay athletes like herself.
“In a world of Navratilovas, be a Billie Jean,” Sullivan concluded, referring to tennis icon Billie Jean King, who supports transgender inclusion in sport.
