Stephanie Turner Says USA Fencing’s Transgender Influx Has Made Her ‘Unwelcome in Own Category’

EXCERPT:

TURNER: “Speaking out on this issue has made me a target for harassment and violence, as well as cost me friends. I have decided to step away from the sport I love, at least for now as well because the USFA has fostered an environment where I am unwelcome in my own category. It is culturally acceptable to bully and shame women who speak up for women. I should not have had to make this sacrifice. Women deserve to be treated fairly in sport. We deserve opportunities to train, compete and win in a women’s category set aside for women. We deserve this at the lowest levels of sport all the way through elite Olympic competition. I hope that by taking a stand and raising awareness of the misogyny in our sport, I can help ensure other women and girls do not have to take such risks to receive the most basic protections in sports.”