Agreement Reached on Transgender Athletes in Women’s Sports

The U.S. Department of Education announced on Friday that it has come to an agreement with Wagner University regarding the participation of biologically male transgender athletes in women’s sports. This follows the case involving Stephanie Turner, a female fencer who kneeled in protest against trans athletes at a recent US fencing event.

As part of the agreement, Wagner University will issue apologies to all female athletes who competed against trans individuals, as highlighted by the DOE. Additionally, the university will revise its sports programs to adopt new biological definitions for male and female athletes.

In early April, video footage of Turner kneeling in front of Red Sullivan during the Maryland Cherry Blossom Open gained significant attention. Turner received a black card—the strictest penalty in fencing—for refusing to compete against Sullivan, resulting in her disqualification and a year of probation.

Sullivan was not representing Wagner at that event, and later the university confirmed that Sullivan is no longer on the fencing team. Earlier this year, the NCAA altered its gender eligibility policy to align with President Donald Trump’s executive directive on this matter.

Now, Wagner is closely aligning its approach with directives from the Trump administration regarding this situation. This agreement comes on the heels of a similar settlement involving the University of Pennsylvania concerning the Leah Thomas debate from 2022.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon stated, “Following the agreement with the University of Pennsylvania, the Trump administration has secured another historic Title IX contract with Wagner University. The women’s fencing team will amend its policy to ensure Title IX compliance.” She further emphasized the significance of this development for female athletes in the current climate.

The Department of Education laid out several conditions for the agreement:

• Wagner must adopt a biology-based definition of “male” and “female” in accordance with Title IX.
• The university will publicly announce its commitment to Title IX, clarifying that it prohibits competition in women’s athletic programs by men.
• The university will maintain this stance regardless of future contradictory policies and will not delegate compliance to external organizations that discriminate by gender.
• Wagner will prominently post statements on its website regarding compliance with Title IX.
• Wagner will retract any guidance allowing men to compete in women’s athletics and will communicate these changes to staff and athletes.
• The school will issue personal apology letters to female fencers and a formal statement to all female athletes impacted by previously allowing male participation in women’s programs.
• As per the contract, Wagner noted that male student-athletes engaged in women’s sports had not received individual recognitions for their performances.

In a communication to its student body, Wagner stated it has addressed concerns related to the Title IX investigation, aligning with the findings of the Civil Rights Bureau.

The university acknowledged the situation involving one student in women’s fencing prior to the 2025 executive order and underlined its commitment to following NCAA and US Fencing regulations while navigating these challenges.

There’s a hint of an apology for those female athletes who may have faced disadvantages during previous competitions, recognizing the concerns raised by the evolving policies.