USA Fencing transgender controversy escalates at DOGE hearing with social media regrets, calls for resignation

Just six weeks after women's fencer Stephanie Turner was disqualified and escorted out of a tournament for kneeling in protest of a trans opponent she watched the man in charge of her punishment get grilled for it in a federal hearing USA Fencing Chair Damien Lehfeldt was grilled by Republican lawmakers at the Department of Executive Efficiency DOGE Subcommittee's Unfair Play Keeping Men Out of Women s Sports hearing on Wednesday After the hearing Turner explained Fox News Digital that she would devote herself and her platform to pushing for resignations among key leadership figures in USA Fencing I'm going to be pushing for people to resign to be honest I'd like to see particular people resign for the comments that they've made especially publicly ones that are harassing and meant to humiliate concerned women mothers and daughters Turner explained CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS COMUSA Fencing has provided a declaration to Fox News Digital addressing Turner's calls for leadership change We respect Ms Turner s right to share her views The volunteer members of USA Fencing s Board elected by our membership remain focused on serving athletes and meeting our obligations under the Ted Stevens Act and other governing-body rules No leadership changes are under consideration the message read Lehfeldt who was subpoenaed and did not come voluntarily made things harder on himself ahead of the hearing with a series of Instagram stories that were later blown up and used against him on the committee floor In one post which went viral before the hearing he responded to a question that sought if he was okay with putting female fencers at a disadvantage with a simple brash answer yeah Then during the hearing Lehfeld admitted multiple times he regretted answering that way and admitted the question required a more-nuanced response He was under oath but I was surprised that he admitted having written a fake response that he posted on his Instagram Turner stated So the simple admission that he knows what he's doing and the intimidation tactics that he's been employing online and he knows that they're wrong and he hadn't redacted them until that point it took a hearing a subpoenaed hearing for him to do that it was surprising USA Fencing provided a report to Fox News Digital addressing its chair's social media posts on Wednesday Mr Lehfeldt s pre-hearing social posts were made in a personal maximum Before and during the hearing he clarified that the comments do not reflect USA Fencing strategy and expressed regret for any confusion they caused the comment read WHO IS STEPHANIE TURNER WOMEN'S FENCER WHO KNELT TO PROTEST TRANS OPPONENT AND IGNITED GLOBAL AWARENESSHowever that was just the start of things for Lehfeldt Throughout the afternoon he faced his fair share of insults and personal comments from Republican committee members Rep Tim Burhcett R-Tenn requested Lehfeldt whether he would let his daughter fence against a man Lehfeldt suggested he would allow it while boasting about his organization's safety precautions As long as the competitor has met all the hormonal requirements and complies with the program I would be okay with it Lehfeldt announced Later in the hearing Rep Nancy Mace R-S C suggested that Lehfeldt was not a man for his organization's gender eligibility plan Real men protect women you're not one Mace mentioned Mace even inquired Lehfeldt to just apologize to Turner for punishing the fencer to which the chair declined and pointed out that Turner received a black card for her refusal However Turner was not looking for an apology I want more than an apology I want a change in procedures and I want people to start speaking the truth again And an apology is just empty words without actions to me so I don't know how far it would go for me Turner revealed The organization first enacted its current trans-inclusion procedures in It allows transgender athletes to compete in the women's category at both the junior and senior level after completing one calendar year of testosterone-suppression medication Proof of compliant hormone therapy must be provided prior to competition but the organization has taken even further measures to prioritize its trans competitors USA Fencing informed in late April that it is preparing to change its gender-eligibility plan in the aftermath of the conflict with Turner In the event that USA Fencing is forced to change its current stance in accordance with oversight bodies or federal decree the new approach states athletes competing in USA Fencing-sanctioned tournaments must compete according to their biological sex the announcement read The proposed updated guidelines ensures that the women's category will be open exclusively to athletes of the female sex The men's category will be open to all other athletes who are otherwise eligible for competition Learning Secretary Linda McMahon previously communicated that the newly formed Title IX investigations crew will be probing the happening involving Turner and trans competitor Redmond Sullivan Meanwhile Turner is on a hiatus from fencing in the aftermath of the dispute I don't see how I can spend the money to go to a tournament and have their be multiple agents that I know who are deeply against me Turner explained That's just not a fight that I want to be in the middle of right now I'd rather take this fight elsewhere Follow Fox News Digital s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter