Judge rejects lawsuit that tried to stop Letitia James from defending trans athletes

A federal judge has opened the door for New York State Attorney General Letitia James to challenge a Nassau County executive order barring trans girls from participating in girls’ sports in Nassau facilities.

District Court Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury summarily dismissed a lawsuit against James from Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican official elected in 2021 and the architect behind the anti-trans policy. Blakeman’s suit attempted to stop James from being able to challenge the order.

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“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 March. “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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The order doesn’t just affect trans girls. It also impacts over 100 athletic facilities throughout Nassau County, according to Newsday, since trans girls and women are now banned from participating on women’s teams at those sites. Groups looking for permission to use Nassau County facilities like swimming pools, football fields, and basketball courts must “expressly designate” the team members’ “biological sex at birth” as male, female, or coed.

“We don’t want a 6-foot, 210-pound males competing against women and girls who are not that big, they’re not that strong. That’s an unfair competition,” Blakeman stated in a press conference in March. “It’s dangerous. And we also don’t want biological males in the same locker rooms as biological females.”

This is also not Blakeman’s first attempt to stop James. Earlier this month, he also tried to file a restraining order to prevent her from challenging the order, but the same judge denied him.

Bobby Hodgson, a supervising attorney and the New York Civil Liberties Union’s director of LGBTQ rights litigation, opposes Blakeman’s anti-trans claims. “This [order] is written in a breathtakingly broad way to capture school sports using Nassau facilities, rec leagues, and intramural leagues,” he told Them in March. “Anybody who wants to throw a one-off women’s charity volleyball tournament on a Nassau court, that would all be subject to this executive order.”

James is not alone in her pursuits, however. Roller Rebels, an adult women’s roller derby league based in Nassau County, is also challenging Blakeman’s executive order. On March 11, they filed a lawsuit against Blakeman alongside the New York Civil Liberties Union. 

“It’s not just the Roller Rebels. It is all of these other groups that are also affected in the meantime,” said Gabriella Larios, a New York Civil Liberties Union staff attorney and counsel.

“And while any legal proceedings are ongoing, this hateful rhetoric continues, and trans youth and trans adults continue to be the subject of hatred just for trying to play sports, trying to be part of a community, trying to improve their physical and mental well-being.”

James is fighting a similar battle with other schools in the state, as Manhattan’s largest school district is also trying to bar trans girls from playing on girls’ teams.

Community Education Council member Maud Maron claimed that girls and women lose “sports opportunities” when biological sex is overlooked. Maron is also the co-president of PLACE NYC, a so-called parental rights in education group. 

The Manhattan school district’s resolution claims a trans-inclusive policy may disadvantage cisgender female athletes’ access to “team roster spots, titles, awards, records, scholarships, achievements and [other] opportunities.”

Many LGBTQ+ allies are pushing back.

“My first reaction is this is just a complete red herring; it’s a made-up issue,” said Community Education Council (CEC) member Gavin Healy, according to the NY Daily News. “I’m not aware of any case of a student missing out on a trophy or medal or scholarship opportunity because of this policy.”

He said he has spoken to families with trans members who feel the resolution is targeting them for their identities.