It was a women’s tournament, but they allowed a male to compete

Women's fencer Stephanie Turner made the public spectacle of poor sporting policy over the weekend. The female athlete decided not to compete against male fencer Redmond Sullivan in a women’s competition. 

"I saw that I was going to be in a pool with Redmond, and from there I said, ‘OK, let’s do it. I'm going to take the knee,'" Turner told Fox News Digital.

Turner went through all her warm-ups that day and went on to fence in four bouts before her matchup with the trans athlete. When it came, she was "nervous and shaky," but was sure about her decision. 

"I knew what I had to do because USA Fencing had not been listening to women's objections regarding [its gender eligibility policy]," Turner said. 

"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."

And right after that, Turner's punishment by USA Fencing commenced.

"Redmond says to me, ‘Well you know, there is a member on the board of directors here who supports me, and there is a policy that acknowledges me as a woman, so I am allowed to fence, and you will get blackcarded,’ and I said, 'I know," Turner said. 

Turner was then black carded and escorted out of the competition. Read that again. 

The female competitor was publicly humiliated and expelled for refusing to participate against a male in a women’s tournament. 

Oh, but there were many, many more female athletes with the conviction and courage of Stephanie Turner. She has counted the cost and made a bold stand.

"It will probably, at least for a moment, destroy my life. I don't think that it's going to be easy for me from now on going to fencing tournaments. I don't think it's going to be easy for me at practice," Turner said. "It's very hard for me to do this." 

There is a great cost, but it is time that athletes, parents, coaches and officials did the right thing. There are male and female categories for the sake of fairness, safety and dignity. 

Stopping the erasure of women is worth fighting for.

So many people say women should just not compete. When they take this action they are penalised and ignored. Sometimes they are threatened with legal action and expelled. 

This is a bold stand but only a small part of the solution. It is the officials and policy makers who must be exposed and shamed for their misogynistic actions that cancel women.