Nassau County, New York is receiving considerable support amid an ongoing dispute with the state over whether or not to allow biological males to compete in women’s sports. The debate could shape a national change on whether or not to allow non-females in girls’ and women’s sports.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman (R) received support after signing an order barring transgender athletes from such competitions. The executive said that the large majority of the correspondence had been supportive of the ban.
Last month the county barred biological males from competing in women’s sports, which received considerable attention and a legal battle with the office of the state attorney general.
The effort was backed by athlete Caitlyn Jenner, who won the Olympic gold medal in 1976 as Bruce Jenner. Jenner said that the move was the correct one and attended a press conference with Blakeman last week.
“Trans women are competing against women, taking valuable opportunities for the long-protected class under Title IX and causing physical harm,” said Jenner.
Caitlyn Jenner spoke out in support of Nassau County, New York's ban on transgender athletes competing on women's sports teams and using the county's public sports facilities — a ban the state's governor and attorney general have slammed. pic.twitter.com/cXNSYNrDBm
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 21, 2024
“The difference between men and women exists based on DNA, or your chromosomes…there are massive advantages and undeniable differences from male development, basically going through male puberty,” Jenner said.
Jenner called on athletes to compete only within their birth gender, calling this “critical to protect the integrity of competition in women’s sports.”
New York Attorney General Tish James (D) sent a cease and desist order following the change. The measure was also challenged in court by the New York Civil Liberties Union. Blakeman sued the attorney in federal court in response.
The attorney general said that the measure was “transphobic.”
Jenner said that James’s argument was wrong and conflicted with Title IX and the 14th Amendment.
Nassau County is not the only New York location to push back against having biological men in sports. A Manhattan school voted this month to request to bar biological males from female sports. Community Education Council District 2 passed the measure 8-3, but does not have an enforcement mechanism.
