"What's wrong, missy? Don't want to fence against this dude? Bigot!"
I assume that’s what this flunky of a referee is thinking as he confronts female fencer Stephanie Turner who took a knee rather than “compete” against a man in a women’s fencing tournament put on by USA Fencing.
The man in question is named Redmond Sullivan. After Stephanie took a knee, he was quick to point out to her that he has the full support of the board of USA Fencing to compete against women in this joke of an organization.
He is right. Far too many of our institutions (including USA Fencing) are all in favor of men competing against women in women’s sports, using their obviously superior upper-body strength to beat the women up.
Heck, last year in the Paris Olympic games, some dude named Imane Khelif beat up a bunch of women to take the gold medal in a women’s boxing category.
Misogynists rejoice!
That morning, when Stephanie looked at the match-ups, she knew she had a big decision ahead of her. She also knew what the right thing to do was, and had the courage to follow through.
She fenced in her first few matches (against, ya know… women). But when forced to face off against this dude, she refused to go along with the charade. Here she is, in her own words, from an article about the happenings.
"I took a knee immediately at that point. Redmond was under the impression that I was going to start fencing. So when I took the knee, I looked at the ref and I 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.'
"Redmond didn't hear me, and he comes up to me, and he thinks that I may be hurt, or he doesn't understand what's happening. He asks, ‘Are you OK?’ And I said, ‘I’m sorry. I have much love and respect for you, but I will not fence you."
For taking this bold (and in more sensible days, obvious) approach, she was immediately punished by the organization. USA Fencing gave her a “black card” (representing the most severe penalty possible) and expelled her from the tournament.
To add insult to injury, Turner was marched before the bout committee who demanded to know what she had done. They then demanded she sign a paper (under duress) acknowledging the black card. Then they handed her a copy of their “transgender policy” before escorting her out of the building.
What a pathetic joke.
Stephanie had been upset about the inclusion of men in her sport, along with so many other women’s sports, over the past few years. She had adopted a personal policy of not entering an event where a man was also entered. In this one, Sullivan must have signed up after she did, leading to the tough decision.
She made the right one. If broader society (and these specific sporting institutions) won’t exclude men from women’s sports, then the women and girls being affected must take matters in their own hands and refuse to play.
Refuse to go along with the absurdity. Refuse to pretend that “everything is okay”. Refuse to be complicit in your own oppression.
If men infiltrate women’s sports, then women must make perfectly clear what is going on by removing themselves. Fine, dude. Take the podium. Hold up your gold medal in some women’s tournament. You were the only participant.
The only way to eliminate this massive injustice if all the “authorities” are against you is to refuse to go along with it.
Kudos, Stephanie Turner. You are a hero.
In taking a knee, you won the biggest prize there is, your dignity and self-respect. You did the right thing. I honor you for it. I hope others follow your lead and refuse to go along with this twisted misogynistic nightmare.
Naturally,
Adam
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