Female fencer Stephanie Turner said she will walk away from competing “for a while” after she was put on a 12-month probation by USA Fencing for refusing to compete against a trans-identifying male fencer in March.

Turner spoke to Fox News about the year-long probation and said because of all the attention she’s gotten from taking a knee against biological male Redmond Sullivan at the Cherry Blossom Open in Maryland she won’t be competing anytime soon in the United States.

“It has disrupted my interactions when I go out in public and it will certainly disrupt my competition because I won’t be competing in the United States anytime soon,” Turner said.

While the probation doesn’t prevent her from competing, Turner said she’ll be “taking a break from fencing for a while in the US circuit,” but will not remain silent about why trans-identifying males shouldn’t compete against women in female sports.

“I will remain in the public eye for as long as it takes to resolve this,” Turner told Fox News.

Female fencer Stephanie Turner, who refused to compete against a trans opponent, is stepping away from the sport after USA Fencing issued a 1-year probation punishment for her protest. pic.twitter.com/pEDqhPq3FZ

— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 16, 2025

She also reflected on other women like her who have been dealing with males competing in their sport and said “There’s no end to the backlash that you may face.”

“And it’s hard to come out because you essentially nuke your whole life,” Turner said.

“You can face social ostracism. You can have financial blowback,” she added. “You can have training disrupted. You could have officials or referees now not being very favorable toward you for the rest of your life.”

After the female fencer refused to compete against Sullivan and was given a black card in response, reports surfaced that the biological male was no longer on the women’s team, as previously reported.

“We are in full compliance with NCAA and NEC rules and regulations. The fencer is not a member of our fencing team,” Wagner College Spokesperson Jim Chiavelli said in a statement to silive.com about Sullivan.

It is unclear if Sullivan was removed from the team or voluntarily stepped down. 

The statement from Wagner College comes after Turner went viral when she posted about being removed from the Maryland competition on March 30th. Turner took a knee against Sullivan, citing how unfair it was to compete against a man.

In response, USA Fencing released a statement about fostering an “inclusive, respectful community for everyone in our sport,” backing Sullivan’s participation on the women’s team.

“While we understand there are a range of perspectives, USA Fencing will continue to engage in respectful, research-based dialogue and review as policy evolves in the Olympic and Paralympic movement as well as domestic law,” the statement added. “Hate speech or targeted hate of any kind is not acceptable — online or in person.”

President Donald Trump previously signed an executive order banning biological men from competing in women’s sports.