A federal judge on Thursday refused Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s (R) request to prevent a cease-and-desist order issued by New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) requiring Blakeman to eliminate an executive order that effectively prohibits transgender women and girls from participating in female sports competitions.
Blakeman’s executive order, which became effective on Feb. 22, defines a person’s gender as their “biological sex at birth” and mandates local sports teams, leagues and organizations to establish participation based on members’ sex assigned at birth, rather than their gender identity.
During a press conference in February, Blakeman stated that the order will not stop transgender athletes — male or female — from competing in all-boys or coed leagues. The executive order’s restrictions apply to over 100 public venues in Nassau County, including parks, baseball fields, basketball courts, swimming pools, and ice rinks.
James in a March 1 cease-and-desist letter warned of “decisive legal action” against the county if Blakeman’s order, which also prohibits county-run facilities from hosting sporting events allowing transgender girls to participate in line with their gender identity, is not revoked within five business days.
“The law is perfectly clear: you cannot discriminate against a person because of their gender identity or expression. We have no room for hate or bigotry in New York,” James said in a news release.
Blakeman’s order, according to the cease-and-desist letter, is “in clear violation” of the New York State Human Rights Law, which makes it illegal for places of public accommodation to discriminate based on sex or gender identity or expression. It will also impose increased scrutiny on female sports teams by only targeting transgender women and girls, James’s office said.
Blakeman, responding to the cease-and-desist order, sued James and the state of New York in federal court. In a March 7 complaint filed on behalf of a 16-year-old female volleyball player and her parents, Blakeman asked the court to enjoin the enforcement of the state’s human rights law against his executive order and declare the order lawful.
District Judge Nusrat Jahan Choudhury on Thursday denied Blakeman’s request, ruling that the county’s motion for a temporary restraining order “falls far short of meeting the high bar” necessary to secure one. Blakeman and Nassau County are unlikely to succeed in arguing that James’s order violates the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, Choudhury wrote.
James’s office declined to comment on Thursday’s ruling. Blakeman did not immediately return a request for comment.
Blakeman’s executive order has been denounced by top New York Democrats, who control both chambers of the state Legislature and the governor’s office. The American Civil Liberties Union of New York sued Nassau County last month on behalf of the Long Island Roller Rebels, a women’s flat track roller derby league with at least one transgender member.
