Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman has initiated legal action against New York State Attorney General Letitia James. This is to halt her intervention in his directive banning transgender athletes from competing against biological females in sporting events held within his county.
Blakeman contends that his authority to enforce the ban should not be impeded by James’ cease-and-desist letter. Blakeman’s executive order, issued on February 22, prohibits trans athletes from participating in competitions against biological females at Nassau County facilities, encompassing parks and other county-owned properties.
Blakeman articulated the policy’s rationale to rectify the perceived inequity arising from males’ inherent physical advantages. During a recent press briefing at his Mineola office, he stated, “They’re bigger, faster, and stronger. It’s a scientific fact.”
Joined by plaintiffs Marc and Jeanine Mullen, whose daughter is an active participant in women’s volleyball in Nassau County, Blakeman underscored the importance of maintaining a level playing field. The Mullens emphasized the potential for significant injury risk to biological females when pitted against biological males, further reinforcing the grounds for the ban.
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The lawsuit filed by Blakeman and the Mullens seeks to enjoin the defendants from engaging in purportedly discriminatory practices based on gender within the domain of sporting events. According to the lawsuit, the objective is to prevent the defendants from mirroring the alleged unconstitutional conduct attributed to the County of Nassau and County Executive Bruce A. Blakeman.
In adherence to Blakeman’s directive, any sports entities seeking authorization from the county’s parks and recreation department must disclose the athletes’ “biological sex at birth.” This requirement, embedded within Blakeman’s order, serves as a means to ensure compliance with the ban on transgender athletes competing against biological females.
Having biological males compete against females creates an unfair and dangerous environment since biological men are generally stronger and faster than women, the complaint said. Those differences are not erased just because someone has sex reassignment surgery, according to the lawsuit.
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“If biological men are allowed to compete with biological females, it erases all the hard-earned progress and – more importantly – creates an unsafe and dangerous environment for those biological females to play in,” it said.
“Just last month it was reported that a girls basketball team went so far as to forfeit a game because a transgender girl injured three girls and the coach felt compelled to terminate his team’s participation in order to prevent further injury to the biologically female athletes by the 6-foot-tall biologically male transgender player,” the complaint said.
A spokesperson for James’ office told Fox News Digital that Blakeman’s order is “transphobic.”
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“County Executive Blakeman’s executive order is transphobic and discriminatory. Our laws protect New Yorkers from discrimination, and the Office of the Attorney General is committed to upholding those laws and protecting our communities.”
“This is not up for debate: the executive order is illegal, and it will not stand in New York.”
ALSO READ: Nassau County Bans Transgender Athletes From Women and Girls’ Sports at County-Run Facilities
Blakeman defended his lawsuit in an interview with OutKick contributor Riley Gaines on the “Gaines for Girls” Podcast.
He pushed back against James’ claim that the lawsuit is transphobic, saying women are a protected class, and he feels that James is not living up to her responsibility to protect women.
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