Judge denies New York county executive request to block AG order to rescind transgender athlete ban

A federal judge on Thursday denied Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s (R) request to block a cease-and-desist order issued by New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) demanding Blakeman repeal an executive order effectively banning transgender woman and girls from competing in female athletic events.

Blakeman’s executive order, which took effect Feb. 22, defines an individual’s gender as “biological sex at birth” and requires local athletic teams, leagues and organizations to “expressly designate” participation based on members’ sex assigned at birth, rather than gender identity.

At a news conference in February, Blakeman said the order will not prevent transgender athletes — male or female — from competing in all-boys or coed leagues. The executive order’s restrictions apply to more than 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 threatened “decisive legal action” against the county if Blakeman’s order, which also prevents county-run facilities from hosting sporting events that allow transgender girls to participate in accordance with their gender identity, is not rescinded within five business days.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.