Michelle Watson and Eric Levenson, CNN
According to a press release released on Friday, New York Attorney General Letitia James demanded that Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman revoke a ban on transgender athletes from competing in both women’s and ladies’ sports. She claimed the ban was a “discriminatory and misogynistic executive order.”
“The rule of law prohibits discrimination against a person based on their gender identity or appearance. In New York, James said in the statement, “We have no place for hate or prejudice.” “This executive order is flagrantly unlawful and transphobic. We will not hesitate to take aggressive legal action unless Nassau County soon revokes the order.”
According to James, the attempt, which was applicable to more than 100 locations under the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Museums, was a “clear contravention” of state civil and human rights law and may require “intrusive and aggressive questioning” of all female athletes.
Trans athletes were prohibited from competing in state facilities’ ladies’ or women’s sports leagues and teams by the executive order, which was signed on February 22. Nassau County is a populous part of Long Island.
“Biological males shouldn’t be competing in those leagues,” Blakeman said. “What we are saying here today with our executive order is that if a league or team identifies itself as a girls or women’s league or team, then biological males shouldn’t be competing in those leagues.” He added that trans athletes can compete in state coed teams or all-boys competitions.
Blakeman’s office has been contacted by CNN for comment.
In order to limit trans athletes’ participation in organized sports in the name of “fairness,” the order was placed. In the past few years, high-level sports regulatory bodies have struggled to strike a balance between fair play and inclusion, and the issue’s prominence in right-wing media has had a negative effect on even local recreational sports.
The National Center for Transgender Equality’s Ash Orr, director of media relations, stated in a statement that the executive order and other similar legislation may “have profound and devastating effects on the lives of transgender athletes in Nassau County, lead to more isolation and stigmatization of transgender athletes, and contribute to the broader social narratives surrounding the trans community.”
There is very little hard data comparing performance between trans athletes and cisgender athletes because there are so few known trans athletes.
There is “no direct or consistent research” in the literature on whether trans people have an athletic advantage over their cisgender peers, according to a 2017 literature review of research published in the journal Sports Medicine. According to the authors, the main obstacle to transgender participation in sports was “the lack of equitable and inclusive environments.”
The-CNN-Wire
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This report was written by CNN’s Ashley R. Williams and Nic F. Anderson.
