ANS -- Trans Athletes in Fencing

This is from Facebook.  It's about how Fencing handles the trans athlete situation.  It goes into more detail than most of you have seen before, and that is why I offer it to you. 

--Kim

Adrien Dessens wrote this.

Friends, this is a long post, but I'm sitting here writing it at 1am because it is so incredibly important. Please read, especially my non-fencing friends to better understand and navigate all the cruel misinformation floating around.

Last weekend a fencer was excluded (disqualified) from a regional fencing competition held at the University of Maryland. This person took a knee in protest and refused to compete against her opponent – a trans athlete. She was then, by rule, excluded from competing in the event. A video of this was shared to X and the story was picked up by multiple news organizations both national and international. Most of the articles about this incident are sensationalist and intentionally misleading so I want to clarify some points, especially for my non-fencing friends.

1. The trans athlete in question is not a "man" fencing in a women's event. USA fencing policy states: "Athletes being treated with testosterone suppression medication, for the purposes of USA Fencing-sanctioned competitions may continue to compete in men's events, but may only compete in women's events after completing one calendar year (12 months) of testosterone suppression treatment. Proof of compliant hormone therapy must be provided prior to competition." It is also worth noting that neither USA Fencing, nor the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee receives federal funding and these organizations are not bound by the executive order signed by Donald Trump to bar trans female athletes from participation in sport. The USA fencing policy keeps us in compliance with international policy on trans and non-binary competitors in sport.

This athlete has undergone the appropriate hormonal therapy and is in compliance with USA fencing's policy. Research indicates that hormone therapy is incredibly effective at leveling the playing field between athletes who have gone through male and female puberty, respectively. This was, from a moral perspective, a scientific perspective, and a sport perspective, A FAIR FIGHT BETWEEN TWO FEMALE ATHLETES.

2. The trans athlete in question is not someone who switched to the women's event in order to "dominate" or "get easy wins". In fact, in THIS COMPETITION she placed 24th out of a field of 38. She fenced in 6 bouts (not including the one that went viral for never happening) – 5 seeding or "pool" bouts and one Direct Elimination Bout. Of the pool bouts she won 2 with scores of 5-0 and 5-3 and she lost 3 with scores of 5-4, 5-4, and 5-0. In the elimination round, seeded 24th she drew the number 9 seeded fencer and lost with a score of 15-11. I share this not to disparage this athlete or suggest she is lacking in talent, but to illustrate the fact that this is NOT what sensationalist media is calling it. THIS IS AN ATHLETE DOING HER BEST THROUGH FAIR PLAY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SPORT THAT SO MANY OF US ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT AND SOME HAVE MADE CAREERS OF. Her participation, which requires more courage than most of us have ever been asked to demonstrate, is an embodiment of the idea (which I hold very dear) that EVERYONE has a place in sport and that the inclusion of EVERYONE who shares the love of the game makes us all stronger.

3. The decision to exclude the protesting fencer was the correct one. First: by the letter of the rule. USA fencing rule t. 113 states: "No fencer (individual or team) may take part in an official competition if he refuses to fence against any other fencer whatsoever (individual or team) correctly entered in the event. Should this rule be broken, the penalties specified for offenses of the 4th group will be applied". The 4th group penalty mentioned here is exclusion from the competition. This rule is not an invention of USA Fencing, rather it comes from the international governing body of fencing: the FIE. In order for USA Fencing competitions (which include the one at issue) to be in compliance with both domestic and international rules is for this rule to be enforced AS WRITTEN. Second: by the spirit of the rule. It would be incredibly inappropriate for officials to allow fencers to refuse to compete against opponents for some reasons, but not others. We should not allow a fencer to refuse based on race or religion or any other prejudice. It is not the place for tournament officials to impose their own personal morals on the athletes, our rules are designed to treat everyone equally and that is what they did here.

4. The protesting fencer was not reacting to a sudden development. The bouts, bout order, and competitors are all posted online and available to the competitors before the preliminary round begins. While I am uncertain when in the pool the bout in question happened in the order of bouts for the pool (the bout itself is not shown in the record because of the exclusion) this likely was not the first bout for either fencer. If this athlete was uncomfortable with her opponent, she could have voiced concerns much earlier. She certainly could have, unwilling to face this opponent, withdrawn herself from the competition knowing the mandatory penalty she would face in refusing to fence. Instead: she appeared on strip, physically connected herself to the scoring apparatus, tested the equipment to ensure it was working, took her place on the starting line and ONLY THEN did she take a knee and make her protest known. The only reason to do it this way (on video) is to create a SPECTACLE. Whatever her intentions, the result of her deliberate choices was that her opponent was unfairly and wrongly singled out and made the subject of dozens of garbage media hit-pieces. This was inappropriate. It was unacceptable. It was shameful.

I am so beyond outraged at the way this athlete has been treated both by her competitor and by the public at large. Trans athletes, like all athletes, BELONG IN SPORT and for those of us tasked with passing on our knowledge and passion to future generations it is paramount that we do everything we can to protect those athletes who are being unfairly targeted simply for trying to compete as their authentic selves.

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