USA Fencing transgender saga takes ironic twist as org defends banning trans athlete from women's event

Competitive fencer Stephanie Turner discusses the U.S. Olympic Committee’s decision to bar transgender women from women’s sports on ‘America’s Newsroom.’

Just one year after a women's fencer was disqualified and punished for refusing to face a transgender opponent, a transgender competitor was forbidden from competition at the very same event.

At this year's Cherry Blossom Open, a USA Fencing-sanctioned competition held at the University of Maryland, trans fencer Dinah Yukich, 43, was denied entry, according to The Daily Record.

A year ago, at the 2025 Cherry Blossom Open, female fencer Stephanie Turner went viral after kneeling in protest of a trans opponent and was black-carded and escorted out.

The incident prompted a federal hearing, and the U.S. Olympic team changed its policies in July to comply with President Donald Trump's "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" executive order.

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Now, as USA Fencing has amended its policies to comply with the order, Yukich filed a civil rights complaint after reportedly being banned, per The Daily Record. The complaint reportedly includes one count of denial of public accommodations based on sex and gender identity, and one count of aiding and abetting a discriminatory policy.

USA Fencing has provided a statement to Fox News Digital addressing the incident, and is standing by the current U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee policy that cites Trump's executive order.

"USA Fencing cannot comment on the specifics of potential litigation. But we can say more generally that, as the recognized Olympic and Paralympic National Governing Body for fencing in the United States, we are required to comply with athlete-eligibility guidance