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USA Fencing Chairman Damien Lehfeldt sparked controversy after posting a photo on Instagram that appeared to show him giving the middle finger with the caption “Game day.”
The timing of the post, just before his scheduled testimony at a congressional hearing on transgender participation in women’s sports, led to criticism from organizations like the Independent Council on Women’s Sports and the Independent Women’s Forum. They interpreted the gesture as disrespectful toward female athletes and lawmakers concerned about fairness in women’s sports.
Lehfeldt later clarified that the photo was cropped and that he was actually holding up two fingers, not making an obscene gesture. USA Fencing released the uncropped image to support this explanation. Despite the clarification, the incident intensified scrutiny of Lehfeldt’s stance on transgender inclusion in sports. In a 2023 blog post, he expressed support for transgender women competing in women’s fencing, emphasizing inclusivity and mental well-being over competitive outcomes.
The congressional hearing, titled “Unfair Play: Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports,” was convened by the House Oversight Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE) and chaired by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Lehfeldt was subpoenaed to testify alongside Stephanie Turner, a female fencer who was disqualified from a tournament after refusing to compete against a transgender opponent. Turner took a knee in protest, citing safety concerns, and has since taken a break from fencing to advocate against transgender participation in women’s sports.
🚨 OUTRAGEOUS: @USAFencing Chair Damien Lehfeldt appears to give the middle finger this morning ahead of a Congressional hearing on the mistreatment of female fencers like Stephanie Turner—who took a knee to protest facing a male opponent and has since left the sport.
Unclear if… pic.twitter.com/n4ELk2T4ue
— ICONS (@icons_women) May 7, 2025
USA Fencing’s current policy, implemented in 2023, allows transgender athletes to compete in alignment with their gender identity. However, the organization has indicated that it may revise this policy if required by oversight bodies or federal legislation. A proposed update would mandate that athletes compete according to their biological sex in sanctioned tournaments, affecting various competition levels.
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