USA Fencing declines to explain reason for policy changes on national anthem, prioritizing pro-LGBTQ states

USA Fencing announced changes to 2 of its arguable policies aft its committee of directors voted connected amendments past Saturday. The enactment has addressed the changes to Fox News Digital. 

One alteration was to a argumentation that discouraged hosting events successful states that were deemed to person anti-LGBTQ laws, arsenic the organization present intends to springiness adjacent information to each 50 states. The different alteration was to a argumentation that did not necessitate the nationalist anthem to beryllium played earlier definite events. 

USA Fencing declined to explicate the decisions down the caller policies. 

"It would beryllium inappropriate for unit to speculate connected the idiosyncratic motivations of USA Fencing’s unpaid Board of Directors," a USA Fencing spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

USA Fencing is already readying competitions successful states it antecedently advised to avoid

Lee Kiefer, Lauren Scruggs, Maia Mei Weintraub and Jacqueline Dubrovich of Team United States observe their golden medals astatine the extremity of the Women's Foil Team last connected time six of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 astatine Grand Palais connected August 1, 2024, successful Paris, France. (Image Photo Agency/Getty Images)

USA Fencing events are present planned to instrumentality spot six of the Republican-controlled states it had stigmatized, per an enactment spokesperson. 

In fact, lone 3 states that the enactment antecedently didn't counsel to debar are acceptable to big a nationalist tourney adjacent season. 

"We merged respective overlapping documents into 1 argumentation that scores each bid — careless of authorities — connected cost, safety, and question convenience. Using this rubric, adjacent season’s nationalist events volition span 9 states including Texas, Missouri, Florida, Utah, Ohio, Virginia, Oregon, Tennessee and Nevada," the spokesperson said. 

The erstwhile big tract enactment argumentation gave penchant erstwhile selecting big cities for nationalist tournaments to states without laws that "harm members of LGBTQ communities" and states that bash not "have laws undermining the reproductive wellness of women." 

The states connected organization's "do not allow" database were Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas. 

USA GYMNASTICS ASSESSING TRANSGENDER INCLUSION POLICY

The states connected its "avoid wherever possible" database included Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming, Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.

The erstwhile argumentation became 1 of the organization's biggest points of disapproval aft fencer Stephanie Turner ignited planetary backlash against the enactment erstwhile she recorded a video of her kneeling successful protestation of a trans hostile during a contention successful Maryland successful precocious March. 

On May 7, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Subcommittee's "Unfair Play: Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports" saw Turner attest against USA Fencing seat Damien Lehfeldt for its transgender eligibility polices. There, DOGE Subcommittee Chairwoman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., called retired the enactment for its host-city policy. 

"In selecting sites for its nationalist fencing events, for instance, the committee argumentation is to debar states whose laws and policies connected LGBTQ rights and termination it opposes. It uses ‘Equality Maps’ to find which states to blacklist from its competitions, and which to favor," Greene said. 

"This ends up favoring a batch of bluish states and harming a batch of reddish ones. So, it creates politically-determined winners and losers — but it has perfectly thing to bash with fencing. And it contradicts USA Fencing’s statutory work arsenic an NGB to 'develop involvement and information passim the United States' successful fencing." 

Now, it won't beryllium an contented for USA Fencing, arsenic authorities LGBTQ polices look to nary longer play a regularisation successful selecting big sites.

The nationalist anthem volition present beryllium required to play astatine each event

Lauren Scruggs (USA) competes against Alice Volpi (ITA) successful the women's foil squad golden medal lucifer during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games astatine Grand Palais. (Katie Goodale-USA TODAY Sports)

The board's caller nationalist anthem argumentation volition spell into effect astatine the 2025 Summer Nationals and volition beryllium reviewed annually by the tourney committee. Previously, determination were nary rules requiring the anthem to beryllium played astatine immoderate event. The enactment claims the anthem has been played astatine each nationalist tournament. 

"The anthem has always been played astatine the commencement of each nationalist tournament. The Board simply wrote that long‑standing signifier into argumentation and added that it volition besides beryllium played connected immoderate U.S. vacation that occurs during an event, specified arsenic Independence Day, which falls during our upcoming Summer Nationals," the spokesperson said of the caller policy. 

USA Fencing's archetypal announcement claimed the caller argumentation volition "provide consistent, respectful minimum guidance for honoring the emblem and anthem crossed 9 yearly tournaments." 

Back successful December, the USA Fencing committee held a vote to play the nationalist anthem astatine the commencement of tournaments earlier "all NACs and National Championships," but it was voted against 8-2 with 1 abstention.

The erstwhile anthem argumentation was besides criticized by Greene astatine the May 7 DOGE hearing. 

"Recently, the committee adjacent voted against playing the nationalist anthem astatine its events," Green said. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Now the enactment has codified that the anthem volition beryllium played astatine each lawsuit going forward. Still, it whitethorn not a imperishable rule. The board's caller nationalist anthem argumentation volition spell into effect astatine the 2025 Summer Nationals but volition beryllium reviewed annually by the tourney committee.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports sum connected X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.