Judge Strikes Down New York County Trans Athlete Ban

Jeenah Moon/AP Photo

A New York state Supreme Court judge ruled Friday that a Nassau County ban that stopped teams with trans athletes from using county athletic facilities is against the law.

Judge Francis Ricigliano ruled on Friday that Nassau County executive Bruce Blakeman didn’t have the authority to issue the de facto trans athlete ban in Nassau County, NBC4 reports. In his 13-page decision, Ricigliano wrote that Blakeman aimed to prevent trans women and girls from participating in women’s athletics in facilities owned by the county, “despite there being no corresponding legislative enactment” that gave him the authority. “This Court finds the County Executive acted beyond the scope of his authority as the Chief Executive Officer of Nassau County,” Ricigliano wrote, according to the local NBC affiliate.

The suit against the county was brought up by the Long Island Roller Rebels, an adult women’s roller derby group based in Nassau County, Long Island. In a statement to NBC4, Amanda Urena, president of the Rebels, said the decision sends a “strong message” against anti-trans discrimination.

“Today’s decision is a victory for those who believe that transgender people have the right to participate in sports just like everyone else," Urena continued. “County Executive Blakeman’s order tried to punish us just because we believe in inclusion and stand against transphobia. Trans people belong everywhere, including in sports, and they will not be erased.”

The sweeping ban prevents trans girls and women from participating in any practice or competition at Nassau County facilities.

In addition, the New York Civil Liberties Union, which filed the lawsuit, called Blakeman’s policy an attempt to “score cheap political points by peddling harmful stereotypes about transgender women and girls” in a statement made to NBC4.

The executive order, issued this February, banned sports organizations that allow trans women and girls to compete on women’s teams from using county athletic facilities in Nassau County, Long Island. The order meant that over 100 sites throughout Nassau County were closed off to any teams that allowed trans athletes on their women’s teams. The order affected facilities such as basketball courts, swimming pools and football fields. In order to access such facilities, teams were required to “expressly designate” whether their teams were male, female or coed based on players’ “biological sex at birth.”

In a March interview with Them, the Rebels’ vice president Curly Fry, who asked to be identified by their competition derby name, said that they do not ask about people’s biological sex at birth when accepting members and they wouldn’t feel comfortable doing so.

“We accept people as they are coming to our league,” Curly Fry said. “The way that this executive order is written, it doesn’t feel like our league is in a safe place to continue growing and being in spaces in Nassau County that are publicly owned.”

After Friday’s ruling, Blakeman said that “girls are women are hurt by the court” in an email to NBC4.

Prior to this decision, a federal New York judge dismissed a lawsuit from Blakeman against New York state Attorney General Letitia James that intended to stop James from challenging his policy.

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