Mon, October 20, 2025
Transgender fencer sues USA Fencing and USOPC over ban following Trump executive order
Transgender fencer, Dina Yukich, is suing USA Fencing, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and Premier Fencing Club due to their compliance with U.S. president Donald Trump’s executive order “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” which was signed in February.
Yukich, who began physically transitioning into a woman in 2021 according to a document filed in New Jersey Superior Court, took legal action on 10 October 2025 after being banned from a women’s competition, claiming discrimination. Initially, her request for her gender marker to be changed from male to female was approved, but this is no longer valid following the organisations’ compliance with Trump’s executive order which bars the participation of transgender athletes in women’s events. The order threatens to “rescind all funds” from organisations that allow transgender women to compete in the female category.
The executive order, officially listed as Executive Order 14201, directs all federally funded sporting bodies to align their eligibility policies with sex assigned at birth. Critics argue that it may conflict with existing federal and state anti-discrimination laws protecting gender identity.
More specifically, the defendants in the case are: Premier Fencing Club, Premier Challenge Regional Open organiser Abdel Azziz, USA Fencing and its employee Shannon Daugherty, the USOPC and USOPC psychologist Mac Brown.
During August this year, Yukich was unable to register for the fencing tournament known as the Premier Challenge Regional Open in New York on 26 September, which was organised by Premier Fencing Club, as it required athletes to be members of USA Fencing and this organisation had changed Yukich’s gender marker back to male following Trump’s executive order.
USA Fencing CEO Phil Andrews announced in July 2025 that the USOPC was making it mandatory for the federation to comply with Trump, which Yukich called “demeaning and offensive.”
USOPC CEO, Sarah Hirshland, stated the following in the wake of Trump’s executive order: “As a federally chartered organisation, we have an obligation to comply with federal expectations. Our revised policy emphasises the importance of ensuring fair and safe competition environments for women. All National Governing Bodies are required to update their applicable policies in alignment.”
Andrews also expressed: “To apply the policy consistently, we updated the competition-gender field for all transgender members to match their sex assigned at birth…
Before doing so, our staff personally contacted each affected member to explain the change, answer questions, and offer support resources through Endure Athletic Mental Fitness…
We recognize the sensitivity of this topic and remain focused on complying with national requirements while supporting every member of our fencing community.”
Conversely, Yukich’s attorney, Susan Cirilli, expressed to The Athletic: “The tournament organisers were aware that implementing the transgender policy may violate state law where an event is taking place. As stated in the pleading, upon information and belief, the USOPC and USAF (USA Fencing) worked together and conspired to ensure that transgender women were excluded from women’s competitions.”
Although the executive order was issued by Trump, it is possible that it violates state laws which aim to prevent discrimination against transgender athletes.
According to the lawsuit, Yukich is arguing that the policy breaches state anti-discrimination laws in both New Jersey and New York, which prohibit discrimination based on gender identity in public accommodations. The complaint seeks a court order reinstating her eligibility to compete in women’s events and preventing the enforcement of the executive order within those states.
Legal observers note that the case could test the limits of presidential authority, since executive orders cannot override existing civil-rights protections enacted at state or federal level.
