A female fencer is speaking out after she was disqualified from a tournament in Maryland for taking a knee and refusing to compete against a transgender-identifying male opponent. Stephanie Turner, 31, was black-carded and booted from a tournament this past weekend for refusing to compete against Redmond Sullivan, who is male and identifies as transgender. Sullivan formerly competed against males and was permitted by USA Fencing to compete in the women’s tournament, the organization confirmed to The Daily Wire. “I want to thank God for trusting me with this mission to fight for female exclusive sports and putting me in a place to effectively protest,” Turner told The Daily Wire in a statement. “I also want to add that I am grateful to the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) for their encouragement and support,” she added. “They have helped me and so many other women who have been put in this unfair and confusing situation.” ICONS on Wednesday posted video of Turner’s protest, which quickly went viral on X. Speaking to Fox News Digital, Turner explained that she did not know Sullivan was in the same tournament, and tries to steer clear of competitions that allow males. The night before the bout, though, she recalled seeing that she was facing Redmond, a male. “From there I said, ‘Okay, let’s do it. I’m going to take the knee,” Turner said. “I knew what I had to do because USA Fencing had not been listening to women’s objections regarding [its gender eligibility policy].” Turner said that when she took a knee, Redmond, out of confusion, confronted her, and eventually told Turner that he has support from the organization. “Redmond was under the impression that I was going to start fencing,” Turner recalled. “So when I took the knee, I looked at the ref and I said, ‘I’m sorry, I cannot do this. I am a woman, and this is a man, and this is a women’s tournament. And I will not fence this individual.'” “Redmond didn’t hear me, and he comes up to me, and he thinks that I may be hurt, or he doesn’t understand what’s happening. He asks, ‘Are you okay?’ And I said, ‘I’m sorry. I have much love and respect for you, but I will not fence you,'” she continued. “Redmond says to me, ‘Well you know, there is a member on the board of directors here who supports me, and there is a policy that acknowledges me as a woman, so I am allowed to fence, and you will get black-carded,’ and I said, ‘I know.'” Turner said when she found out she was facing off against Redmond, she knew she had to “give it to God.” “If this person shows up to my event and is on my script, then I would take a knee, and that would be God’s will,'” she added. Related: VIDEO: Female Fencer Booted From Tournament After Refusing To Compete Against Male Opponent