The New York Civil Liberties Union filed an appeal on March 3 to challenge a state court decision upholding Nassau County’s trans athlete restriction.
“At a time of unprecedented attacks against trans people across the country, it is all the more important that appellate courts reaffirm that anti-trans discrimination is prohibited by New York law,” said Gabriella Larios, staff attorney at the New York Civil Liberties Union. “The county court’s ruling is inconsistent with longstanding state law, which makes clear that Nassau’s ban is discriminatory. We will never stop fighting for the right of transgender girls and women to participate in sports like everyone else. We are doubling down on that commitment with this appeal.”
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman defended the county’s law.
“As usual, the NYCLU is on the wrong side of this important issue and it’s tragic that they oppose fairness and safety in women’s sports,” Blakeman said.
In February 2024, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman signed an executive order barring transgender athletes from competing on female sports teams at county facilities.
The law does not prevent transgender men and boys from competing on male teams.
State Attorney General Letitia James issued a cease-and-desist order in response to the executive order. Her office claimed it was discriminatory and violated human and civil rights laws.
The State Supreme Court struck down the executive order in May after the New York Civil Liberties Union and a Long Island roller derby team filed a lawsuit against the trans athlete ban.
The trans athlete ban was abolished in court because Blakeman did not have the authority to issue it without legislative action.
In response, the Nassau County Legislature passed the legislation along party lines in a 12-6 vote.
The civil liberties union filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Long Island Roller Rebels, a roller derby group with transgender athletes on the team, challenging Nassau County’s law prohibiting transgender women and girls from competing on female teams at county facilities.
In January, Nassau County Supreme Court Judge R. Bruce Cozzens ruled that the county law does not exclude transgender women and girls from competing at county facilities based on their gender identity. He added that the roller derby group also did not show discrimination under human rights and civil rights laws.
“We are more determined than ever to continue our fight against Nassau County’s cruel and transphobic law,” said Curly Fry, president of the Roller Rebels. “The trans women playing on and volunteering for our team are vital parts of our organization, and we will not let them down. This ban, which legitimizes the dangerous idea that trans women should be shut out from the public sphere, is an attack on all of us. Trans people belong everywhere, including in sports. As our legal challenge moves forward, we reiterate that our doors are open to whoever wants to join us to play.”
According to the NYCLU, the Roller Rebels have filed permits to compete at Nassau County facilities in July, yet these permits were never granted and remain “pending.”
Since the lawsuit was filed, the House of Representatives passed a law banning trans athletes from female sports. The Senate then blocked a similar bill on March 3.
Both Nassau County U.S. Representatives, Rep. Tom Suozzi (NY-3) and Rep. Laura Gillen (NY-4), voted against the House bill in January.
“Today’s bill is clear and dramatic government overreach,” Gillen said in a statement. “The groups best equipped to deal with this and with the requisite information and expertise are found at the local and league level: they know how to ensure the safety of their athletes better than officials far removed in Washington.”
The Senate’s “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act” would have barred schools from receiving federal funding if they permitted trans athletes to compete on female teams. It would have also defined someone’s gender by the sex and reproductive organs they were assigned at birth.
Both New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand voted against the Senate bill.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February intended to ban transgender athletes from female sports, also threatening to withhold federal funding from school schools that don’t comply.
