NY Attorney General Letitia James threatens legal action against Nassau County trans sports ban
NEW YORK — New York Attorney General Letitia James on Friday sent Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman a cease-and-desist order threatening “decisive legal action” if the Republican official doesn’t “immediately rescind” his “transphobic and blatantly illegal” sports ban.
James’ strong words come just over a week after Blakeman announced that transgender athletes would no longer be allowed to compete in sports aligned with their gender identity at county-run facilities.
According to an executive order signed by Blakeman on Feb. 22, “any sports, leagues, organizations, teams, programs, or sports entities” must assign athletes to one of three categories based on their gender assigned at birth when applying for a permit to use Nassau County Parks property.
The categories are “males, men, or boys,” “females, women, or girls” or “coed or mixed, including both males and females” — which excludes transgender athletes.
The ban likely violates New York State anti-bias laws, which bar discrimination from public accommodations on the basis of “gender identity or expression.”
“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. “This executive order is transphobic and blatantly illegal. Nassau County must immediately rescind the order, or we will not hesitate to take decisive legal action.”
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