‘IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE’

New York AG Calls for Repeal of Nassau County Transgender Athlete Ban

Nassau County executive Bruce Blakeman made it clear he does not intend to back down.

The New York Attorney General’s Office called for the reversal of a Nassau County executive order banning transgender female athletes from competing in women’s sports, arguing it violated state anti-discrimination laws.

The executive order made on Feb. 22 said that teams must be designated based on assigned sex at birth, in order to play at a Nassau County Parks property.

On Friday, the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James called for the order to be rescinded in a cease-and-desist letter.

“The Order’s immediate effect is to force sports leagues to make an impossible choice: discriminate against transgender women and girls, in violation of New York law, or find somewhere else to play,” said the letter, signed by Civil Rights Bureau Chief Sandra Park.

Park argued that the order constitutes sex discrimination because it would, “impose increased scrutiny of members of teams designated for women or girls and may result in subjecting them to intrusive and inappropriate inquiries.” The same scrutiny would not be placed on mens soccer teams or athletes.

County Executive Bruce Blakeman made it clear he has no intention of backing down, and took to X to defend his controversial order on Friday. He wrote that the order “stops the bullying” of cisgender women and girls by transgender women. He also insisted that the order does not violate New York State law.

NY LGBT Network President David Kilmnick responded to the order, arguing that transgender youth have “been the victims of bullying and violence at significantly higher rates,” than their cisgender counterparts Blakeman insists on insulating.

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Edith OlmstedBreaking News Intern

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