USA Fencing Board Chairman, at-large, independent, and athlete directors,

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In the past few weeks, our nation has witnessed a new leadership in our federal government. The new administration has published several executive orders directly impacting organizations like USA Fencing. Some of the executive orders are precisely in line with the proposals that Fair Fencing Organization (FFO) made to USFA prior to the last board meeting. As a result, we request USFA to comply with relevant executive orders by making the following changes to its bylaws and policies.

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1) Eliminate all DEI positions and DEIB policies

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On January 21, the Administration issued an executive order titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity”, requiring the termination of all DEI offices and DEIB policies within the federal government and all education institutions that receive the federal funds, and encourages the private business to do the same. Section 4 of this executive order - “Encouraging the Private Sector to End Illegal DEI Discrimination and Preferences” - specifically mandates the U.S. Attorney General to make recommendations to the President for enforcing Federal civil-rights laws and taking other appropriate measures to encourage the private sector to end illegal discrimination and preferences, including DEI. 

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USA Fencing conducts educational activities with overwhelming majority of its members being middle school, high school, and college students. Therefore, it must follow the executive order and make organizational changes to comply with this executive order.

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DEI is an ideology inconsistent with meritocracy, the fundamental principal that made America great. More importantly, DEI is defined as illegal discrimination and preference under the executive order and the Administration is cracking down all illegal DEI policies across the nation. In reality, DEI has been proven often a disguise for discrimination, racial quota, and unfairness. DEI office and DEIB policies need to be eradicated from USA Fencing. This includes removing the LGBTQ map from the NAC location considerations which is an example of illegal DEI policy and inherently discriminatory against half of the country. 

 

2) Prohibit transgender athletes competing in women’s category

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The Administration’s executive order on February 5, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports”, bans transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports in all educational institutions and athletic associations. USA Fencing is an athletic association under this executive order. We ask you to comply with this executive order and immediately change your rules and policies so that all athletes can only compete in events based their birth gender.

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There are already many instances where the transgender athletes participated the women’s fencing in tournaments and won unfairly female fencers who could otherwise have medaled in the games. It is outrageously un-sportsmanship, unfair, and unsafe to women athletes. It is disappointing that USA Fencing has intentionally been confusing the public the issue that who should fence in what category with the nonexistent issue that who should be allowed to fence. It was never in question that all cisgender and transgender fencers should be allowed to fence, in the category of their birth sex. Consistent with the US government mandate that there are only two genders, male and female at birth, it is our position that everyone is welcome to fence and everyone should fence in the gender they belong to at birth. USFA transgender and non-binary policy must be completely revamped to comply with the U.S. federal government mandate. 

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3) Play National Anthem every day during national tournaments

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USA Fencing is a national governing body under USOPC. It represents the United States in the sport of fencing. It needs to have an official policy that the U.S. National Anthem is played every day during all national tournaments. It is utterly unpatriotic to deny such a request by using a pale excuse of it being operational. Currently the National Anthem are played on the first day of some national tournaments. Because our tournaments span multiple days at national level, athletes fencing different weapons and different age groups come on different days of the tournaments, playing national anthem every day is for all participants to honor our country in the biggest fencing events in the US. This is similar to other major sports leagues playing national anthem on every game in the season. The lack of an institutional policy has led to inconsistent practices from one tournament to another. This is precisely the reason that we request you to make it an institutional policy that National Anthem must be played to start every day in all national tournaments. Your excuse to deny such a patriotic request will only further alienate the majority of USFA members and the vast majority of patriotic Americans. 

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This is the second time that FFO makes these requests to the USFA board. You refused to listen to the members’ voice last time, declined to conduct a simple survey among all members on the issues, put your personal ideological preferences ahead of vast majority of members’ interest, broke your fiduciary duty, and conducted the last board meeting as a grandstanding political showcase of some directors’ personal ideology. Now we would like to know if you will defy the Administration’s executive orders.

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FFO is working with AAU Fencing to provide the U.S. Attorney General our brief on the illegal and discriminatory DEIB practices by the USFA. FFO is working with ICONS to lead and join class action lawsuits against USFA if USFA continues the current path. In addition, FFO is prepared to launch a separate class action lawsuit against USFA and certain board directors and officers on their breach of fiduciary duty, conflicts of interest, financial and accounting irregularities, and other violations of corporate governance, if the board and USFA leadership continue on its current path without fulfilling its duties under the applicable statutes and USFA’s bylaws. Being a board director comes with great responsibility and accountability. FFO once again urges each and every board member to perform his/her fiduciary duty to all the members and to the organization. As board directors, whether elected or appointed, you should serve the community, including the majority of the members, not just some special interest groups or DEI classes. We, the members, will no longer tolerate and be burdened with any unpatriotic, anti-meritocracy, or discriminatory actions, practice, and policies by USA Fencing. We, the members, intend to hold each and every board director accountable in the performance of his or her fiduciary duty to the fullest extent permitted by law.

 

Regards,

 

Fair Fencing Organization