Nassau County Bans Transgender Athletes From Competing With Women

MINEOLA, NY — Nassau County is banning transgender athletes from competing in sports at any county-run facilities.

County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who made the announcement on Thursday, said this applies only to women's sports, not co-ed competitions.

"Nassau County will protect women and girls right to compete in sporting events in female leagues WITHOUT biological males bullying their way onto those teams," Blakeman tweeted.

The ban, believed to be first of its kind in the nation, immediately had its detractors.

"This executive order is transphobic and deeply dangerous. In New York, we have laws that protect our beautifully diverse communities from hate and discrimination of any and every kind, New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement."My office is charged with enforcing and upholding those laws, and we stand up to those who violate them and trespass on the rights of marginalized communities. We are reviewing our legal options.”

The Nassau County Legislative's minority leader, Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D) said: "Nassau County residents were falsely promised tax cuts and a fairer property assessment system from this county executive, instead they received a county executive who has been more interested in self-promotion by spending public money on private golf outings, swanky galas, and unrelated press conferences - such as today’s focus on legislating little leagues, which has nothing to do with his responsibilities."

The ban will take place at more than 100 sites across the county, Newsday reported.

Criticism is reaching lawmakers in Albany, including Nassau-based Assemblywoman Gina Sillitti (D), who attacked Blakeman for "issuing an unnecessary Executive Order to grab headlines that I fear could lead to a culture of hate towards transgender children," she said. "Words matter. Far too often, hateful rhetoric leads to hateful action, as we just saw in Oklahoma, where a non-binary child was murdered... Hate knows no boundaries, as we’ve seen right here in my district, when children were targeted, it was so vile that it elicited a bipartisan condemnation. Directing vitriol toward children should not and can never be tolerated."

David Kilmnick, New York LGBT New York president and founder, was "profoundly disappointed" by the actions of Blakeman.

"This discriminatory move not only undermines the principles of inclusivity and fairness but also perpetuates harmful stereotypes and exclusion," Kilmnick said.