A federal judge dismissed a Title IX lawsuit brought by a U.S. Olympian against USA Fencing over alleged transgender competitors at a past women’s competition.
Missouri District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan Jr., appointed by George H.W. Bush in 1991, dismissed the lawsuit led by former U.S. Olympic fencer Margherita Guzzi Vincenti without prejudice. The lawsuit was filed in October and alleged biological males were allowed to compete in women’s and girls’ competitions at the 2025 North American Cup (NAC) in Kansas City, Missouri last January.
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“USA Fencing and the individual defendants named in the lawsuit have always been deeply committed to providing resources and opportunities to fencers throughout the country. We are grateful for Judge Gaitan’s order granting the defendants’ motion to dismiss in favor of USA Fencing and the individual defendants,” USA Fencing said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Guzzi was joined by competitive women’s fencers Emma Griffin and Patricia Hughes. They originally alleged USA Fencing knowingly permitted biological males to compete in women’s divisions while advertising events as female-only, including in competitions involving athletes under the age of 18.
“We discovered that transgenders are present at our events, and this is not putting females at an equal playing field,” Guzzi previously told Fox News Digital.
“USA Fencing does not disclose the exact amount of transgenders in our sports. So we’re really left in the dark. We don’t know, when we step on the strip, who we are going to fence. So it could be a fencer named Mary Wilson, and then we just discover at the very moment, when you step on the strip and you’re about to start your match, that Mary Wilson is not a woman.”
However, the court ruled the plaintiffs failed to state a valid Title IX claim because they did not adequately allege that they were excluded from participation, denied benefits, treated adversely because of sex, or even that they competed against transgender athletes.
“Plaintiffs have failed to allege that they were excluded from or denied the benefits of the competition because of their gender. Plaintiffs have not even alleged facts supporting that they competed against transgender athletes. Plaintiffs have not pled that they were treated adversely because of their gender,” read the judge’s decision.
“Plaintiffs allege that they were treated differently because of their gender but have not alleged from whom they were treated differently or in what way. Plaintiffs have failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.”
USA Fencing came under a global spotlight for its previous policies that enabled biological males to compete in women’s competitions last April, after women’s fencer Stephanie Turner went viral for kneeling in protest of a trans opponent at an event in Maryland.
USA Fencing changed its policy to only allow females to compete in women’s competitions last July, to comply with the new U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) updated safety eligibility policies. The USOPC updated its policies to comply with President Donald Trump’s “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order that same month.
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