by Daniel Johnson
September 1, 2025
The suspension of McDowell, who will become eligible for retirement once his suspension ends, is just the latest scandal that has involved USA Fencing in recent years.
Curtis McDowald, one of the only Black fencers on USA Fencing’s 2021 Olympic squad that competed at the Tokyo Olympics, has been declared ineligible to compete for a period of five years after the organization determined that he violated their codes of conduct multiple times on Aug. 29.
According to USA Today, this action follows his temporary suspension in 2023 after allegations of his misconduct were made known to the governing body of the United States Olympic fencing team.
His behavior, at that time, including at least one report that he kicked a freestanding banner near the strip “among other actions,” put the team’s chances of qualifying for the Paris Olympics in jeopardy as they competed in one of the prerequisite events to qualify for the Olympics, the Pan-American Senior Games.
The suspension of McDowell, who will become eligible for retirement once his suspension ends, is just the latest scandal that has involved USA Fencing in recent years.
As The New York Times reported, a few months ahead of the Paris Olympic Games, international saber fencing was roiled by questions regarding refereeing, accusations of preferential treatment, and concerns from the sport’s top players and coaches that the web of connections in the sport plays an outsized role in determining who gets to compete.
USA Fencing, in particular, suspended two of its officials for communicating with each other during an Olympic qualifying tournament in California.
This was preceded by sexual assault allegations against épéeist Alen Hadžić in 2021, and despite those very serious allegations and an open investigation of him by the US Center for SafeSport, the sport’s independent watchdog organization, USA Fencing allowed him to compete in the Tokyo Games as an alternate.
This, understandably, drew considerable outrage and comparisons to the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal that had engulfed the Women’s USA Gymnastics team.
Furthermore, after what fencing insiders described to Business Insider as a disastrous conference call following the Tokyo Olympics, three senior fencing officials resigned—all from USA Fencing. USA Fencing Executive Director Kris Ekeren, Communications Director Nicole Jomantas, and General Counsel Jim Neale, all retired after parents, athletes and administrators all were outraged over USA Fencing’s failure to properly address sexual misconduct.
“These terrible things keep happening over and over again,” Essene Waters, a USA Fencing referee who has made claims that were investigated by SafeSport, told Business Insider in 2021. “Nothing’s changing,” she continued, saying that she feels “constantly let down by the organization that’s supposed to protect victims.”
More recently, USA Fencing again found itself at the center of a controversy, this time after reports surfaced that the Trump administration instructed American consulates to deny visas for trans athletes as part of a larger crackdown on trans athletes, ostensibly in the supposed interest of protecting women’s sports. Red Sullivan, a 19-year-old trans woman became the focus after her opponent 31-year-old Stephanie Turner refused to compete, allegedly telling her, “I respect you a lot, but this is a women’s event. I am a woman and you’re a man. I will not fence you.” Turner’s refusal to compete against Sullivan put the issue in front of Congress.
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