TWO Males Set To Compete In Women’s Division During USA Fencing Championship

By Anna Slatz

Two trans-identified males are set to compete in USA Fencing’s April North American Cup this weekend, just under two weeks after a dramatic knee-taking protest against men in women’s sports at a fencing event in Maryland.

Annika Suchoski, 40, and Daniel “Anne” Crocket, believed to be 66, are entering their respective age categories for the women’s epee at the tournament, both of which are set to begin on April 11 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. 

News of Suchoski’s participation in the women’s category first came to light in September of last year when, after just six months of competing in the sport, he came second in the Fortune Fencing Regional Championships in Ontario – beating all but one of his female competitors.

Concerningly, Suchoski has posted multiple photos to his Instagram page where he has used filters to make himself appear child-like, a practice known as “affirming edits.” In one of the captions of the images, he claims he has been “doing a lot of work to heal [his] inner child.”

Crocket, who has been calling himself “Anne” since at least 2022, currently serves on USA Fencing’s Domestic Assignment Committee for Referees, meaning he has control over the hiring for the referees of the eight national tournaments held each season by the organization, including the North American Cup this weekend. Crocket is also a member of the Rules and Examinations Committee, which is responsible for making decisions on fencing rules and maintaining the USA Fencing rulebook.

The news of the men’s participation comes less than two weeks after a USA Fencing-organized event was subject to a protest by a female competitor for allowing a trans-identified male to play in the tournament.

Stephanie Turner, 31, took a knee and refused to fight against Redmond Sullivan. As a result of her peaceful defiance, Turner was given a “black card,” suspending her from the competition.

Reduxx previously reported how Sullivan, currently studying at Wagner College in New York, was quietly transferred from the men’s fencing team to the women’s team, enjoying a significant improvement in his performance after he did so. Sullivan even went on to seizing gold in the women’s category at a junior Olympic qualifier.

Speaking to Reduxx on the inclusion of Suchoski and Crocket’s participation in tomorrow’s event, Turner encouraged female fencers to stand up for their right to single-sex sports.

“I encourage women to speak up and take action if they feel unsafe in competition or witness unfairness,” Turner said. “You have the right to stand up for yourself, whether by voicing concerns to US Fencing Association officials and peers or choosing not to fence. We have an opportunity to get our sport back, one that should not be wasted.”

USA Fencing first officially came out in November of 2022 with their Transgender and Nonbinary Athlete Policy which stated that placement would be based purely on self-declared “gender identity” or “gender expression” rather than biological sex. However, USA Fencing had allowed biological males to compete against women for at least a decade prior, with the majority of trans-identified players having previously fared poorly when facing male opponents.

In an interview with the Daily Mail published earlier this month, Turner expressed that she was scared of reaching out before the event to officials, as she knew that many of the higher-ups in the organization, such as Crocket, held pro-transgender views. “I was like, I don’t even want to reach out because if I do, then I won’t ever have a fair bout in my life,” Turner said.

“I would lose favor within the sight of referees and I could end up with a biased bout. I could lose friends who I don’t know what their position is on this. So what I was doing already was just avoiding tournaments where I knew there was a transgender fencer. But at this point, what else should I do? Should I just not sign up for any tournaments? I have no other options.”

Many officials at USA Fencing have expressed explicitly pro-trans sentiments, including At-Large Director of the USA Fencing Board, Damien Lehfeldt, who has repeatedly defended the inclusion of trans-identified men in the sport.

In 2023, he even went so far as to share an fabricated email exchange with a fictitious woman to his Instagram account in which he scolds her for being opposed to trans-identified males in women’s fencing.

“Dear Dorothy, the year is 2023 and as it turns out, you’re not in Kansas anymore,” Lehfeldt wrote in one of the bizarre messages, which he recently admitted were fake. “My daughter will compete against women, period. If she loses to a woman of any variety, I’m not going to pull her from the sport and write a whiny email announcing my departure,” he continued.

Earlier this week, USA Fencing faced two different legal challenges at the state and federal level. On Monday, Senator Ted Cruz sent a letter to USA Fencing in his capacity as the Chairman for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, demanding to know why the organization that serves as the National Governing Body (NGB) for fencing still allows biological males to compete alongside women in its sport. “USA Fencing’s commitment to ‘inclusivity’ is nothing less than full-throated support for males competing in women’s sports in violation of federal law,” Cruz argued in his letter.

“As the recognized NGB for fencing, USA Fencing is required to provide ‘support and encouragement for participation by women where separate programs for male and female athletes are conducted on a national basis’ as well as a ‘safe environment in sports.’ Failure to do so is grounds for the United States Congress to terminate USA Fencing’s certification as a NGB,” Cruz continued, noting that USA Fencing must also comply with President Trump’s executive order from February, Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports, which “protects the integrity of female athletics by ensuring that only women compete in women’s sports.”

The following day, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a Civil Investigative Demand to USA Fencing over potential violations of Texas state law. “USA Fencing is on the wrong side of history and potentially the wrong side of the law due to violations of Texas consumer protection laws,” Paxton said. “USA Fencing’s policies are not only potentially illegal, but also deeply insulting to the young women like Stephanie Turner who have sacrificed so much and dedicated countless hours to compete and succeed in competitions. I will fight to stop these unfair policies, and I will never back down from defending the integrity of women’s sports.”

In response to Cruz’s letter, USA Fencing refused to address the charges, instead directing journalists to a previous statement on the matter. “USA Fencing enacted our current transgender and non-binary athlete policy in 2023. The policy was designed to expand access to the sport of fencing and create inclusive, safe spaces,” the statement reads.

“The policy is based on the principle that everyone should have the ability to participate in sports and was based upon the research available of the day… USA Fencing will always err on the side of inclusion, and we’re committed to amending the policy as more relevant evidence-based research emerges, or as policy changes take effect in the wider Olympic & Paralympic movement.”

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Anna Slatz
Anna Slatz
Anna is the Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief at Reduxx, with a journalistic focus on covering crime, child predators, and women's rights. She lives in Türkiye, enjoys Opera, and memes in her spare time.
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