'How many men?' Ted Cruz demands answers from USA Fencing after male athlete was allowed to compete against women

Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) asked the national fencing body why it is not complying with federal mandates and gave a clear deadline for answers.

A male competed in a women's fencing tournament in Maryland at the end of March, which sparked a protest from one of the female athletes, who refused to compete against the man.

Female fencer Stephanie Turner forfeited her match against male Redmond Sullivan and was disqualified from the tournament, with officials stating that her DQ was due to her refusal "to fence an eligible opponent."

To make matters worse, as Blaze News previously reported, the male fencer had already seen great success in the women's division, accumulating two gold medals in just six events. This, despite the male athlete's highest achievement in the men's category being third place over the span of several years.

Senator Cruz decided to pen a letter to USA Fencing after the ordeal, dated April 7, and asked why the sport's national governing body was defying President Trump's executive order that requires women's competitions to remain solely for women.

"It has come to my attention that USA Fencing is still permitting men to compete in women's fencing in violation of federal law. I'm writing to ask why," the Texas Republican wrote.

Cruz added that in order to retain its recognition as a national governing body in the United States, USA Fencing must comply with Olympic and federal standards.

"If it does not, and instead continues to put women at risk, Congress may be forced to terminate USA Fencing's NGB's certification," Cruz warned.

After going into great detail about violations and different instances of unfairness to women, the senator noted that male fencers have natural advantages over female competitors.

"Men tend to be taller, have greater muscle mass, and more testosterone — all advantages for fencing movements like lunges, jumping, or leg power measures," Cruz explained.

Then, the senator gave USA Fencing a deadline of April 21 (two weeks) to respond to his inquiries about the sporting conditions for women in fencing. His inquiries included questions like, "How many men (or transgender women) currently compete in the women's division of USA Fencing?" and, "Does the USA Fencing Transgender and Nonbinary Policy comply with President Trump's EO on Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports? Why or why not?"

Cruz also wanted to know how many sanctioned bouts had occurred in fencing between men "or transgender women" and women and how many times the male won. He also asked about how many times a female suffered in an injury in one of those bouts.

Blaze News has reached out to USA Fencing to see if the organization has provided the senator with a response or if it has a general response about allowing men to compete in women's sports.

This article will be updated with applicable responses.

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