It’s just terrible that she feels this way.
Stephanie Turner, a female fencer, made an appearance on OutKick‘s “Gaines For Girls” podcast for an interview with Riley Gaines. The two talked about her move to bravely take a knee and forfeit a match against a transgender athlete at a USA Fencing event in protest.
The conversation was centered around the backlash she and other females have received for protesting against biological males in women’s and girls sports. (RELATED: DOGE To Hold Hearing On USA Fencing Transgender Nonsense After Woman Gets Punished For Protesting Unfairness)
Handed out by XX-XY Athletics, Turner landed the Courage Wins award for being brave in her refusal to participate against a trans athlete. Turner said she is appreciative of the award because she feels like her life is getting “nuked” due to her justified protest.
“There are quite a lot of women who are witnessing men in their sports, and they’re trying to save their own sports on their own, and it’s hard to come out because you essentially nuke your whole life,” said Turner to Gaines. “You can face social ostracism, you can have financial blowback, you can have training disrupted, and you could have officials or referees now not being very favorable toward you for the rest of your life. There is no end to the backlash that you may have.”
“It’s not fun being on the receiving end of this, it’s not what I wanted to do and it helps to have people who acknowledge that, but it takes some sort of sacrifice to bring attention to an issue and I appreciate XX-XY for their acknowledgement.”
Two men will vie for the women’s title in the @USAFencing April North American Cup tomorrow.
This is 1 week after Stephanie Turner refused to compete against a man. @tedcruz — hold USA Fencing accountable. Revoke their NGB (natl governing body) status. pic.twitter.com/5stClGRaFR
— Jennifer Sey (@JenniferSey) April 10, 2025
Sad times we live in, ladies and gentlemen. But shoutout to women like Stephanie Turner and Riley Gaines for fighting back.
