Three female fencers, including US Olympic fencer Margherita Guzzi Vincenti, have filed a class-action lawsuit against USA Fencing for alleged violations of its own hormone treatment requirements for transgender athletes, claiming the organization permitted biological males to compete in women’s divisions while advertising events as female-only.
According to the lawsuit, USA Fencing failed to enforce its own policy requiring males to undergo one year of testosterone suppression before participating in women’s categories, allowing biological males to compete in events labeled as female-only, including those involving athletes under the age of 18. The plaintiffs also allege that the organization did not disclose the presence of transgender or non-binary athletes in events, leaving female athletes and parents without the necessary information to make informed participation decisions.
The lawsuit further claims that USA Fencing’s lack of oversight allowed biological males to register and compete in women’s events regardless of whether they had completed the required hormone-suppression treatment. The plaintiffs argue that the organization’s failure to implement a verification system has compromised the fairness of the sport and endangered the rights of female athletes to compete on equal terms.
USA Fencing has responded to the lawsuit by stating that it is aware of the class-action complaint and strongly disputes the allegations, indicating that the matter will be addressed through the legal process. The organization has not provided further comment at this time.
Margherita Guzzi Vincenti, who competed for the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics, stated that she joined the lawsuit to protect the integrity of her sport. ‘Fencing has been my life since I was a child,’ she said. ‘I have trained and competed with the expectation that women’s competitions are for women. It is about fairness and preserving opportunities for girls and women who dedicate their lives to competing on equal terms.’
Emma Griffin, a standout NCAA competitor, echoed similar concerns, emphasizing the need for transparency and honesty in the rules governing the sport. ‘We pay entry fees, travel across the country, and commit years to training,’ she stated. ‘We deserve to know the rules and trust that women’s events are truly women’s events. It is about respect for athletes and transparency from the organizations that govern our sport.’
The lawsuit argues that USA Fencing is an educational institution subject to Title IX, and therefore violated it by allowing males to compete in the girls’ and women’s categories. The plaintiffs seek to support this claim by citing USA Fencing’s past applications for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan during the pandemic, which listed it as an educational service organization, making it subject to federal funding and oversight.
Legal representatives for the plaintiffs, including Karin Sweigart of The Dhillon Law Group, stated that the case is about restoring trust, transparency, and compliance with federal law. They argue that by allowing biological males to compete in the women’s category, USA Fencing has violated Title IX by depriving women of their own sport, which they fought for over one hundred years to have.
The lawsuit includes former USA Fencing board chair Damien Lehfeldt as a defendant, who was replaced as chair last weekend after deciding not to seek re-election. Lehfeldt cited ‘lawsuits’ and ‘death threats’ as reasons for his decision, marking another significant development in the ongoing controversy surrounding the organization’s transgender participation policies.
The incident involving Lehfeldt is part of a broader legal and political debate over transgender athletes’ participation in women’s sports. This issue has previously been highlighted by the viral incident involving fencer Stephanie Turner, who was disqualified for kneeling in protest of a transgender opponent. The event led to a federal subpoena of Lehfeldt to a congressional hearing, where he faced questions about the organization’s policy on transgender athletes. Subsequent lawsuits were filed against Lehfeldt for allegedly making false statements at the hearing, further complicating the legal landscape.
USA Fencing recently updated its transgender participation policy to ensure compliance with the USOPC’s new athlete safety policy, which cites the ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports’ executive order signed by former President Donald Trump. This change reflects the ongoing tension between different interpretations of Title IX and the rights of transgender athletes in competitive sports.
As the legal battle continues, the case has sparked a broader conversation about the intersection of athletics, identity, and equity in sports, with implications for how women’s sports are regulated and protected moving forward.