Trans fencer speaks out after opponent refuses to play her: ‘My entire life is political’

A transgender fencer who was thrust into the centre of an anti-trans media storm when her cis opponent refused to compete against her has spoken out about the incident, declaring that there are “more important” things to talk about.

Red Sullivan, a dual history and education major at Wagner College, was set to face Fencing Academy of Philadelphia fencer Stephanie Turner at the Cherry Blossom Open tournament at the University of Maryland at the end of March.

However, as the bout between the pair was set to begin Turner removed her mask and refused to go ahead, taking the knee instead.

Turner, who had completed four matches before facing Sullivan, was shown a black card by the referee and disqualified from the women’s tournament.

She turned to the referee after taking a knee and said: “I’m sorry, I cannot do this. I am a woman, and this is a man, and this is a women’s tournament. And I will not fence this individual.”

A video of Turner’s refusal quickly went viral and was praised by notable public figures like Martina Navratilova and JK Rowling, with Turner receiving $5,000 (£3,789) from anti-trans sporting group XX-XY Athletics.

Speaking to Rolling Stone about the incident and backlash Sullivan said Turner’s protest left her ” bewildered — flabbergasted, even”.

“Nothing close to this has ever happened. No one has ever had a problem with me fencing in a women’s event,” Sullivan told the outet.

“She could have withdrawn herself from the tournament, or talked to the organisers and said, ‘Hey, I do not want to fence this person,’ and seen if they could have reshuffled the pools. She actively chose to have this interaction and film it and then send it to people to post it.”

She went on to say that people do not general care about fencing as a sport but only do so in this case because she is trans.

“There are a million things more important than to talk about a silly little fencing tournament in Maryland” Sullivan stated, noting neither she nor Turner was likely to win the event.

“My entire life is political,” she said.

Turner’s protest comes weeks after Donald Trump’s administration passed an executive order to ban trans woman from competing in female sports.

The order was signed by Trump at the beginning of February and stated: “In recent years, many educational institutions and athletic associations have allowed men to compete in women’s sports. This is demeaning, unfair and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.”

It went on to say it will be the “policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity and truth”.

In response, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) – which oversees student athletics in the United States – near immediately announced female competition would be limited to those assigned female at birth.

‘Feminism should include all women’

Sullivan described fencing as an “esoteric sport” in which “you can get something from practicing with anyone and everyone”

“12-year-olds come up and ask to fence me regularly, and I will regularly lose to certain 12-year-olds”, she explained, adding that fencing is “not a measure of pure strength”.

Despite the backlash USA Fencing has doubled down on its trans-inclusive policy and backed Sullivan, stating it does not tolerate hate speech or “targeted hate of any kind”.

“USA Fencing remains committed to fostering an inclusive, respectful community for everyone in our sport, ” a statement published on Thursday (3 April) read.

“We believe in the principle of creating safe communities where all athletes, and community members, have a place.”