Judge Strikes Down Nassau County Executive’s Trans Sports Ban
Judge rules, on narrow grounds, that County Executive Bruce Blakeman overstepped his authority in imposing the ban.
A New York judge has struck down a county executive’s attempt to impose a ban prohibiting transgender athletes on female-designated sports teams from using county sports facilities on technical grounds, arguing that such a ban would have to be passed legislatively to be valid.
On May 11, the Nassau County Supreme Court struck down County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s executive order prohibiting trans-inclusive sports teams from using nearly 100 facilities, including ballfields, basketball and tennis courts, swimming pools, and ice rinks, in the suburban Long Island county.
Under the order, sports teams designated for women or girls would have to affirm that they do not have any players who were assigned male at birth in order to access those facilities. Those who could not verify that fact, or continued to allow transgender athletes to compete, would have to seek out alternative venues outside of the county for practice, games, or matches.
The policy does not place any restrictions on transgender males in terms of team membership. It also allows transgender athletes to continue to compete in male-designated or co-ed sports leagues.
Nassau County Supreme Court Judge Francis Ricigliano ruled that Blakeman had overstepped his authority in issuing the order, finding that he could not impose such a policy without having it previously approved by the Nassau County Legislature. But he did not weigh in on the merits of the policy, declining to state whether the order violated the state’s Human Rights Law.
Blakeman criticized Ricigliano’s decision to overturn the policy on technical grounds, rather than taking up the larger issue of transgender participation in women’s sports. He told The New York Times that he plans to appeal the decision, and told CNN affiliate News 12 that overturning his order would harm women and girls, who are at a competitive disadvantage when it comes to competing against athletes assigned male at birth.
“It’s just science, and it’s common sense and obvious that a biological male typically … is larger, faster and stronger than a female participant,” Blakeman said in justifying the ban.
But the science isn’t as clear as people might assume. According to CNN, a 2017 report in the journal Sports Medicine reviewing studies of transgender athletes found “no direct or consistent research” showing that transgender females have an athletic advantage over cisgender females.
Similarly, a study released in April, funded by the International Olympic Committee, found that transgender females demonstrated greater handgrip strength — an indicator of overall muscle strength — but had lower jumping ability, lung function, and relative cardiovascular fitness, compared to cisgender female athletes.
The order was challenged in a lawsuit brought by the New York Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the Long Island Roller Rebels, a women’s flat track roller derby league from Nassau County. Under Blakeman’s order, the trans-inclusive league would be barred from using county facilities and would have to travel long distances simply to practice, let alone hold competitions.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs argued that Blakeman’s order is contrary to, and violates, provisions of New York’s Human Rights Law prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity.
“We are gratified the court has struck down a harmful policy that belongs in the dustbin of history,” Gabriella Larios, a staff attorney for the NYCLU, said in a statement. “The ruling deals a serious blow to County Executive Blakeman’s attempt to score cheap political points by peddling harmful stereotypes about transgender women and girls.”
Other LGBTQ advocates and allies celebrated the decision while also acknowledging its narrowness and limitations, keenly aware that the Nassau County Legislature — which Republicans control by a 12-7 margin — could revive the ban in the future.
Still, others argued that even if the county legislature were to pass the ban again, it would fail on its merits. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who threatened legal action against the county over Blakeman’s order, referred to the ruling as a “major victory” in a post on X.
“In New York, it is illegal to discriminate against a person because of their gender identity or expression,” James wrote.
Curly Fry, the president of the Long Island Roller Rebels, argued that transgender individuals have the right to participate on sports teams that align with their gender identity.
“As a league welcoming trans women and committed to providing a safe space for everyone to be their full selves, County Executive Blakeman’s order tried to punish us just because we believe in inclusion and stand against transphobia,” Fry said in a statement. “Trans people belong everywhere including in sports, and they will not be erased.”
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