An order restricting transgender athletes from using county-run parks and fields in Long Island, New York, was struck down by a judge on Friday after it was challenged by a roller derby league.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman issued an executive order in February denying park permits to any women’s and girl’s teams, leagues or organizations that allow female transgender athletes to participate. Blakeman held a news conference in March with Caitlyn Jenner, the Olympic gold medalist for the men’s decathlon in 1976 prior to a gender transition, who endorsed the ban.
Blakeman’s reasoning for the executive order stemmed from his effort to ensure female athletes could compete in their respective sports fairly, but Judge Francis Ricigliano ruled that he didn’t have the authority to issue the order.
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Members of the Long Island Roller Rebels, practice skills on March 19, 2023, at United Skates of America in Seaford, New York. (AP Photo/Jeenah Moon)
In his 13-page decision, Ricigliano, wrote that Blakeman’s order was aimed at preventing transgender women from participating in girls’ and women’s athletics in county parks, “despite there being no corresponding legislative enactment” providing him with such authority.
“In doing so, this Court finds the County Executive acted beyond the scope of his authority as the Chief Executive Officer of Nassau County,” Ricigliano wrote.
The league’s lawsuit was backed by the New York Civil Liberties Union, which said the decision overturned a harmful policy that attempted to “score cheap political points by peddling harmful stereotypes about transgender women and girls.”
“This is a huge victory for all trans people in Nassau, especially our plaintiffs @LIRollerRebels,” the NYCLU wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“This decision sends a strong message that transphobic discrimination cannot and will not stand. We…
