Trans woman excluded from fencing tournament at UMD, files complaint

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A woman filed a civil rights complaint after being excluded from a fencing competition at the University of Maryland, College Park because she is transgender.

Dinah Yukich, 43, wanted to compete at the Cherry Blossom Open, a March competition held at the University of Maryland and sanctioned by USA Fencing, the sport’s national governing body. But she was forbidden from participating because she was not assigned female at birth.

Last year, after an executive order by President Donald Trump, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee changed its rules to forbid trans women from competing in women’s sports. USA Fencing and other sports’ governing bodies were forced to comply.

That rule violated state antidiscrimination law, Yukich argued in a complaint filed Monday with the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights. The complaint names USA Fencing, the USOPC, the University of Maryland and a handful of employees of those organizations as respondents.

Bryan Wendell, a spokesperson for USA Fencing, declined to comment on the litigation but noted the executive order and stated, “we are required to comply with athlete-eligibility guidance issued by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee.”

“We recognize the sensitivity of this issue and remain committed to treating every member of our fencing community with respect, dignity, and care while working within the requirements established for us as (a national governing body),” Wendell said.

The USOPC and the University of Maryland did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The complaint brings two counts, one for denial of public accommodations based on sex and gender identity, and another for aiding and abetting a discriminatory policy.

Yukich is represented by Susie Cirilli, a member of Spector Gadon Rosen Vinci in New York City, and Jessie Weber, managing partner of Brown, Goldstein & Levy in Baltimore.

“When you host an event where members of the public can participate, you have to follow state law,” Cirilli said in an interview. “The University of Maryland must follow the law of the land.”

Yukich, her complaint states, helped resurrect her Michigan high school’s fencing team in the late 1990s. She then went to the Johns Hopkins University, where she joined the fencing team but left the team because she said the coach didn’t want “girly men” on his team. She fenced at a local club in Baltimore instead.

She came out as trans and transitioned in her 20s, and didn’t fence for more than a decade. Eventually, she decided to take up the sport again. She reregistered with USA Fencing as a woman and was rated “unclassified,” the lowest-skill tier.

After the executive order, USA Fencing changed her registration from “F” to “M.” She attempted to get it changed back but was unsuccessful.

This is not her first attempt to compete in officially sanctioned fencing competitions since she transitioned. Last October, she sued USA Fencing, the USOPC, a fencing club and other entities in New Jersey, after being excluded from a competition in New York. That case is awaiting a ruling on motions to dismiss.

This story has been updated with a comment from Cirilli.