Olympic fencer sues USA Fencing over alleged trans athlete incident

First on Fox: US Olympic fencer Margarita Josie Vincente, along with teammates Emma Griffin and Patricia Hughes, have filed a class-action lawsuit against… USA Fencing regarding an alleged incident during the 2025 North American Cup (NAC) in Kansas City, Missouri, in January.

Vincenti, Griffin, and Hughes claimed that American dueling was intentionally permitted Biological male Competing in women’s divisions while events are advertised as women-only, including competitions involving athletes under the age of 18.

“Because Defendant USFA’s Youth and Trainee Policy allowed for ‘unrestricted’ self-identification and lacked any verification mechanism, biological males under the age of 16 were, and could have been expected to, be allowed to compete in the women’s event,” the lawsuit alleged.

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Margarita José Vincente poses for a photo during the USA Fencing Team’s media day at New York Sports Club on May 21, 2024 in New York City. (Al Bello/Getty Images)

“Defendant USFA also does not disclose to members or participants whether transgender or non-binary athletes are entered into a particular event, leaving female athletes and parents unable to make informed participation decisions.”

The lawsuit also alleged that the organization did not enforce its previous policy of allowing only males to compete in the women’s category after completing one year of testosterone suppression treatment.

“With respect to information and beliefs, Defendant USFA never implemented any system to monitor or verify compliance with this requirement. In practice, this lack of oversight allowed biological males to register for and compete in female events regardless of whether they had completed any hormone suppression treatment,” the lawsuit alleges.

USA Fencing provided a statement to Fox News Digital in response to the lawsuit.

“USA Fencing is aware of the class action complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri on October 29, and we strongly deny its allegations. We will address this matter through the legal process and have no further comment at this time,” the statement read.

Guzzi, who competed for Team USA in Paris Olympics 2024She said she joined the lawsuit to protect the integrity of her sport.

“Fencing has been my life since I was a child,” she said. “I trained and competed with the expectation that women’s competitions are for women. It’s about fairness and preserving opportunities for girls and women who dedicate their lives to competing as equals.”

Hughes, a veteran with 20 years of experience, expressed similar concern.

“I have seen women’s fencing grow from a niche sport to one in which female athletes can thrive on an international level,” Hughes said. “This progress will only continue if justice is done. The next generation of girls deserves the same level of competition that inspired us decades ago.”

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Griffin, a top NCAA competitor, said young athletes deserve honesty and clarity from national governing bodies.

“We pay an entry fee, we travel around the country, and we commit to years of training,” Griffin said. “We deserve to know the rules and trust that women’s events are truly women’s events. It’s about respect for the athletes and transparency from the organizations that govern our sport.”

The suit says USA Fencing is an educational institution subject to Title IX and thus violated it by allowing boys to compete in the girls’ and women’s divisions.

The lawsuit seeks to argue this by alleging that the organization listed itself as an educational services organization twice in 2020 and 2021 in its applications for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan during the COVID-19 pandemic, and because the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) receives direct federal funding, including taxpayer-derived appropriations, forgivable PPP loans, and funding from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The plaintiffs are represented by Mahdavi, Bacon, Halfhill & Young PLC, and Dillon Law Group.

“Title IX was enacted to ensure equal athletic opportunity for women,” said attorney Karen Swigart of Dillon Law Group. “Our clients are not asking for special treatment, just for the fairness and integrity that women’s sports have long promised.”

“By allowing biological men to compete in a women’s event, USA Fencing has violated Title IX by depriving women of their own sport that women have fought for over a hundred years to obtain,” said attorney Charles Wang of Mahdavi Beacon and general counsel for Fair Fencing.

Attorney James Bacon added, “This case is about restoring trust, transparency, and compliance with federal law.”

Former USA Fencing Chairman Damian Lehfeldt is also listed as a defendant. Fox News Digital has reached out to Lehfeldt for comment.

Lehfeldt was replaced as president last weekend after choosing not to run for re-election.

In announcing that he would not seek re-election, Lehfeldt cited “lawsuits” and “death threats” as the reason for his decision. Lehfeldt has been at the center of controversy in USA Fencing dating back to April when female fencer Stephanie Turner went viral for kneeling in protest of transgender fencers and was disqualified.

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The incident resulted in Lehfeldt being issued a federal subpoena to a congressional hearing to explain the organization’s policy on transgender athletes. Subsequently, former Olympic coach and board member Andrei Geva and former Olympic fencer Abdul Salem sued Lehfeldt for allegedly making “false statements” at the hearing.

USA Fencing subsequently changed its transgender entry policy in July to allow only female competitors to participate in the women’s division. The change was made to ensure compliance with the US Olympic Committee’s new athlete safety policy, which now cites President Donald Trump’s executive order to “keep men out of women’s sports.”

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