Wagner College confirmed the trans fencer is no longer on the women’s team following a kneeling protest during competition.
Wagner College recently announced that a transgender fencer is no longer part of the women’s fencing team.
This decision follows a controversial incident during a tournament that drew significant attention.
A female opponent kneels in protest of playing against a trans fencer
The controversy began at the USA Fencing tournament in Maryland.
Redmond Sullivan, a transgender woman, was competing when a female opponent refused to face her.
The opponent stated that she did not want to compete against a transgender athlete, which led to her disqualification.
This incident quickly became a topic of discussion on social media and in the news.
“I am sorry. I have a lot of love and respect for you, but I will not fence you.”
“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,’” Turner recalled.
NCAA policy changes affecting participation
Wagner College’s decision comes after changes in the NCAA’s policies regarding transgender athletes.
Recently, the NCAA updated its rules to limit women’s sports participation to those assigned female at birth.
This policy shift has raised concerns and discussions about fairness in women’s sports.
Sullivan transitioned to Wagner’s women’s fencing team recently.
Redmond Sullivan was previously a member of Wagner College’s men’s fencing team. She switched to the women’s team in November 2024.
Following the recent tournament, Sullivan’s participation became a matter of great debate, leading to the college’s announcement.
Trans fencer disqualified after female opponent kneels in protest of playing against them
A spokesperson for Wagner College stated that the school is in full compliance with NCAA rules.
They confirmed that Sullivan is no longer on the women’s fencing team.
The spokesperson did not provide further details on whether Sullivan left voluntarily or was removed from the team.
“We are in full compliance with NCAA and NEC rules and regulations. The fencer is not a member of our fencing team.”
Social media reactions
The news about Sullivan has sparked mixed reactions from the community and beyond.
Some people support the college’s decision, believing that it upholds the new policies that aim to protect women’s sports.
Others feel that this decision is unfair to transgender athletes who simply want to compete.
One user said: Back to normalcy! This person can still compete with the other men!
The second user added: Yes, it’s utterly stupid that a man was on the women’s team, and that the college didn’t even drop the athlete after the new regulations prohibiting males from competing in women’s sports in NCAA.
The third user commented: This a sport where you can have anyone as your opponent, she should be able to fence anyone, because skills are not inherent to a gender.
The fourth user added: There is a lot of talk about Women’s Rights, but that doesn’t seem to apply to Women’s sport teams.
We Women have rights to compete in our tournaments against other Women. Period!
Another user wrote: He should not have been allowed on the team to began with.
Someone said: I don’t understand why there isn’t a division for trans women and trans men. This seems the logical thing to pursue.