Judge Francis Ricigliano ruled that Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman didn’t have the authority to issue his February executive order, which denies park permits to any women’s and girl’s teams, leagues or organizations that allow female transgender athletes to participate.
He wrote in his 13-page decision 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.
Amanda Urena, president of the Long Island Roller Rebels, which challenged the order, said the decision sends a “strong message” against discrimination.
“Today’s decision is a victory for those who believe that transgender people have the right to participate in sports just like everyone else,” Urena said in a statement. “County Executive Blakeman’s order tried to punish us just because we believe in inclusion and stand against transphobia. Trans people belong everywhere, including in sports, and they will not be erased.”
The New York Civil Liberties Union, which filed the suit on behalf of the league, said the decision overturned a harmful policy that attempted to “score cheap political points by peddling harmful stereotypes about transgender women and girls.”
Blakeman dismissed the judge’s decision as one that didn’t address the merits of the case. The ruling doesn’t delve into the civil rights arguments raised by both sides, instead focusing on the limitations of the county executive’s powers.
“Unfortunately girls and women are hurt by the court,” he wrote in an emailed statement.
Blakeman had maintained the ban was meant to protect girls and women from getting injured if they are forced to compete against transgender women.
It impacted more than 100 athletic facilities in the densely populated county next to New York City, including ballfields, basketball and tennis courts, swimming pools and ice rinks.
But the roller derby league, in its suit, argued that the state’s human rights and civil rights statutes explicitly prohibit discrimination based on gender identity.
The league’s lawsuit cited the state’s Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, or GENDA, as well as guidance from the state Division of Human Rights, which confirms that public accommodations cannot deny transgender people access to programs and activities consistent with their gender identity.
The league filed suit after it applied for a permit to host a slate of games at roller rinks in various county parks this summer that it’s used in previous years for practices and other events.
The Nassau County-based league, which was founded in 2005, said it welcomes “all transgender women, intersex women, and gender-expansive women” and has at least one league member who would be prohibited from participating under the county’s order.
A federal judge, in a separate legal case, rejected Blakeman’s bid to prevent the state attorney general’s office from taking action against the ban after it issued a cease-and-desist letter warning him that the order violated the state’s anti-discrimination laws.
LGBTQ+ advocates say bills banning trans youth from participating in sports have passed in 24 states.
A surfing competition has been told to let transgender women compete or risk a violation of a local law.
A two-day surf contest is set to take place in Huntington Beach, California, this weekend (11 May), but, in a decision that has divided opinion, contest organisers informed Australian trans surfer Sasha Jane Lowerson that she could not take part.
The California Coastal Commission has said local events that ban trans women from participating in the women’s division could face being shut down.
Lowerson said she applied for the competition as she fitted within criteria set by the International Surfing Association with regard to testosterone levels, adding that she could prove they are below the required threshold.
“I was really disappointed and surprised [at being excluded],” she told the BBC. “You can’t cherry-pick the rulebook. If you’re going to use the rulebook, you use all of it.”
Lowerson believes trans women have no unfair advantage in the sport. “It’s not a race, it’s about style, flow, grace,” she explained. “As a long-boarder, it’s more like ballet on a wave.”
Last month, Todd Messick, whose American Longboard Association organises the competition, announced that trans women wouldn’t be allowed to compete in the women’s division.
Messick said the decision aimed to “offer an equal playing field for all athletes,” but he told the BBC he was “surprised by the amount of anger” the move generated.
In a letter to Messick, the California Coastal Commission said: “Prohibiting, or unfairly limiting, transgender athletes from competing in this or any surf competition that takes place in the coastal waters of California does not meet the requirements of the public access policies of the Coastal Act.”
Pro surfer Bethany Hamilton joined in a backlash against a Rip Curl campaign. (Pink News)
At the start of the year, Lowerson was featured as part of a Rip Curl campaign, which resulting in a backlash on social media. Professional surfer Bethany Hamilton joined in the criticism alongside former college swimmer Riley Gaines, and Lowerson’s photos were removed from the surfing sportswear manufacturer’s social media platforms.
Trans athletes’ participation in sport continues to divide opinion. Last year, the World Surf League announced its new policy on trans athletes. The guidelines require transgender participants to maintain a testosterone level of less than five nanomoles per litre for at least 12 months in order to compete in the women’s division.
A new study out of the U.K. undercuts the idea that transgender women have an advantage over cisgender women in sports — and suggests that trans women are less like cis men than many suppose.
The study was funded by the International Olympic Committee and conducted at the University of Brighton in England. It was published in April in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
The participants consisted of 23 trans women, 21 cis women, 19 cis men, and 12 trans men. They all were involved in competitive sports, although not at the national or international level, or did physical training at least three times a week. All the trans women had been on medication to suppress testosterone for at least a year and were taking estrogen.
Trans women in the study had greater handgrip strength than cis women, but they had lesser jumping ability than both cis women and cis men, plus lower lung function and cardiovascular fitness than cis women.
“While longitudinal transitioning studies of transgender athletes are urgently needed, these results should caution against precautionary bans and sport eligibility exclusions that are not based on sport-specific (or sport-relevant) research,” the study concluded.
A key takeaway is that “trans women are not biological men,” Yannis Pitsiladis, one of the authors, told The New York Times.
Some have criticized the study, claiming it was influenced by the IOC and that it deliberately used trans women who were less physically fit than cis men. But the authors emphasized that all participants met the same criteria for physical activity, and Pitsiladis told the Times that IOC officials did not pressure researchers regarding the outcome.
Pitsiladis said he and his team have been threatened over the study. That could have a chilling effect on research, he told the Times. “Why would any scientist do this if you’re going to get totally slammed and character-assassinated?” he said. “This is no longer a science matter. Unfortunately, it’s become a political matter.”
Anna Baeth, director of research with Athlete Ally, which works for LGBTQ+ inclusion in sports, welcomed the study. “The science is murky when it comes to specific hormones like testosterone and trans women athletes — primarily because no study, until this one, have examined trained athletes who identify as transgender,” Baeth told Forbes. “What does remain clear is that there are hundreds of factors that impact athletic performance, especially social ones. If governing bodies are serious about creating better and more opportunities for women, their focus should be on the numerous, proven research which consistently finds unequal treatment of women’s sports in participation opportunities, funding and resources, access to facilities and infrastructure, and media coverage.”
A drag queen has been announced as one of the people who will carry the Olympic flame in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. She has been targeted for hatred by the right since she was announced as one of the people who will participate in the Olympic torch relay, but the city of Paris is standing up for her.
“I know that visibility is still one of the pillars of acceptance of our LGBTQIA+ community,” 33-year-old Parisian drag queen Minima Gesté said in a video announcing her participation. “So having a drag queen carry the flame—and who might fall flat on her face with it, wait and see—it’s an enormous source of pride.”
The video was posted online on Wednesday, and many people in the comments responded by attacking Minima. “Decadence of civilization brought on by the left,” one person commented. “Can I get a Russian passport?” another person wrote, calling Minima’s participation a “fiasco” and “ridiculous.”
Far-right politician and niece of proto-fascist politician Marine Le Pen, Marion Maréchal, attacked Minima in an interview on the channel TF1. “This person performs in a way that is particularly vulgar, hypersexualized,” she said. “I don’t think it’s a good way to represent France in the eyes of the world.”
But Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo stood up for Minima.
“I reaffirm my full support for her,” Hidalgo said in a statement on Friday. “I’ll say it again: I am proud and, yes, Paris is proud that a drag queen will carry the torch and the values of peace and humanity.”
The city’s X account said that the original video was “the target of numerous homophobic and transphobic statements.”
“Public insults, particularly of a homophobic and transphobic nature, are an unlawful act,” the account said, referring to France’s hate speech laws. “The Mayor of Paris will be passing statements that she believes potentially rise to the level of a violation of the law against public insult of a homophobic or transphobic nature to the Paris prosecutor’s office.”
“I really don’t care if Marion Maréchal Le Pen doesn’t agree that I should carry the Olympic flame,” Minima said in an Instagram story. “I’ll say it again: yes, I’m proud, and yes, Paris is proud that a drag queen will carry this flame and, therefore, the values of peace and of humanity.”
Minima will be one of several people who will carry the torch when the relay gets to Paris on July 14 and 15.
Maréchal has previously criticized the government based on rumors that French pop star Aya Nakamura, who is Black, was asked to perform at the opening ceremony. Nakamura was born in the West African nation of Mali and immigrated with her family when she was young to a working-class suburb of Paris, becoming a French citizen in 2021. Popular in France, her music is influenced by her African roots.
“The French don’t want to be represented in the eyes of the world by a singer whose style is influenced by the hood and Africa,” Maréchal said, according to an NPR translation. “This is a political move by [French President] Emmanuel Macron, who wants to tell the world that the face of France is multicultural, and we’re no longer a nation with Christian roots and European culture.”
Recent reports are claiming that several professional footballers plan to come out as gay on 17 May.
German newspaper Preußische Allgemeine Zeitung has reported that numerous national players plan to come out before the end of the Bundesliga, the professional football league in Germany.
The German outlet has quoted Marcus Urban as a source. Urban is a former footballer in Germany who came out after retiring. He was the second player worldwide to come out, only after British player Justin Fashanu in 1990. Fashanu was the only prominent player in pro English football to come out, until Jake Daniels in 2022.
Urban is a co-founder of Diversero, a global community for diversity that is said to be in contact with the relevant players.
“May 17th is an offer,” Urban told the German outlet. “A date that you could use as a guide and get together as a group.
Urban has shared that in a private group chat, there are active conversations surrounding this plan.
“There is controversy there. Do I still want to wait until the world of football becomes the way I want it to be? Why should I wait?”
“An interesting dynamic has come into play, you can see that people’s minds are starting to move and are thinking about whether it really makes sense to continue to hide and deny themselves.”
“There are also gay Bundesliga couples who are in hiding. That would be so liberating. What’s wrong with it?”
The collective coming out plan is reportedly named Sports Free. There is also said to be a documentary, named Hide and Seek, that will chronicle the stories of the players involved in this collective coming out.
“The footballers will see that they are just a small building block in a big game,” Urban remarked about the project.
Have there ever been any gay Premier League footballers?
To date, there haven’t yet been any out, gay footballers playing in the UK Premier League. Justin Fashanu didn’t play in the Premier League. He did have a trial for Newcastle United in 1991, but they were a second division team at the time.
That hasn’t stopped tabloids speculating, of course. The Sun claimed in November 2022 that two Premier League players in the same team “are in a relationship and open about being a gay couple”.
However, to date, the truth behind these rumours has not seen the light of day.
There is a stark contrast in terms of LGBTQ+ representation when men’s football is compared to women’s football. The latter is full of out LGBTQ+ female players, including Rachel Daly, who is currently dating her Aston Villa teammate Sarah Mayling: a defender.
Both the 2023 Women’s World Cup and Euro 2025 qualifiers are no exception, with a record number of publicly LGBTQ+ female footballers taking to the pitch.
Which professional male football players are out?
Josh Cavallo on the RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under judging panel. (World of Wonder)
The six active out, gay pro footballers include Jake Daniels. Daniels came out at age 17 in 2022 when he was playing for Blackpool.
“I want people to know the real me,” he declared at the time, noting his teammates had been supportive.
In Australia, there’s Josh Cavallo. Cavallo came out publicly as gay in 2021. He has been vocal about being sent death threats and homophobic abuse since his announcement, highlighting the state of LGBTQ+ acceptance in men’s football.
Also in Australia, Andy Brennan, an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a winger or striker for South Melbourne, became the first openly gay Australian male footballer.
As mentioned above, Zander Murray, Scotland’s first out gay professional footballer, has just retired. Murray, who played for Gala Fairydean Rovers FC, made headlines when he came out in 2022.
“I have achieved what I wanted to. I wanted to play in the league and I have done that. And I feel with what is happening off the pitch for me, I don’t really want to go on any further,” Murray stated about his retirement.
Another queer professional footballer using his voice to amplify LGBTQ+ topics in sport is 29-year-old Collin Martin, who plays for San Diego Loyal in the US. Martin, who came out in 2018, was at the time the only active male professional soccer player to be openly gay.
Speaking to PinkNews, Martin shared he was disappointed with FIFA over the Qatar World Cup over “the lack of representations in stadiums” and the “lack of allyship allowed from straight players willing to support the LGBTQ+ community”.
“It’s hard, and as much as there’s a lot of people who are pushing the sport in the right [direction], FIFA and Qatar have shown that they are still not willing to be a part of that conversation.”
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, or NAIA, which oversees more than 83,000 athletes at mostly smaller colleges, has rolled out a new policy that bans transgender women from competing in women’s sports, making it the first major college sports governing body in the U.S. to do so.
The policy states that only student athletes whose assigned sex at birth is female will be allowed to compete on NAIA-sponsored women’s sports teams. The organization’s Council of Presidents voted 20-0 to approve the policy on Monday, and it will take effect Aug. 1.
Under the new policy, transgender men and trans masculine students can compete on women’s teams if they haven’t started masculinizing hormone therapy. Those who have will also be barred from NAIA competition, but they can participate in workouts, practices and team activities for women’s teams. However, the NAIA policy states their participation is “at the discretion” of their college. All students, including trans men and trans women, will be allowed to compete on men’s teams, according to the policy.
The NAIA did not immediately return a request for comment. Jim Carr, the organization’s president and CEO, told The Associated Press that the policy was deemed best for member schools but also acknowledged that it will likely be seen as controversial.
“We know there are a lot of opinions, and a lot of people have a very emotional reaction to this, and we want to be respectful of all that,” Carr said. “But we feel like our primary responsibility is fairness in competition, so we are following that path. And we’ve tried as best we could to allow for some participation by all.”
The move makes the NAIA, which oversees more than 200 schools, the latest sports governing body to restrict the participation of transgender students as trans people’s participation in various aspects of public life has become increasingly politicized. Half of states have passed laws or regulations in recent years that restrict or completely bar trans students from competing on the elementary, middle, high school and/or college sports teams that align with their gender identities.
The NAIA had a transgender sports policy that was similar to the NCAA’s, the body that oversees collegiate athletics for more than 1,000 colleges and universities. Since 2011, the NCAA allowed trans women to compete on women’s sports teams if they underwent one year of testosterone suppression.
The NCAA changed that policy in January 2022, following controversy over Lia Thomas, a trans University of Pennsylvania swimmer who won a number of racesearly in her season and went on to win an NCAA championship. The NCAA adopted a sport-by-sport approach that determines eligibility based on guidelines set by the national or international governing body of each sport.
In response to the NCAA’s policy change, the NAIA formed a Transgender Task Force in April 2022.
The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization, denounced the NAIA’s new policy Monday.
“Today, the NAIA decided to bar an entire category of people from competition simply because of a right-wing outrage campaign that purposefully misrepresents and distorts the realities of transgender athletes while doing nothing to support women’s sports,” Kelley Robinson, the organization’s president, said in a statement. “The benefits of sports to the mind, body, and spirit are well known. Every student, including transgender student athletes, deserve the opportunity to be a part of a team and to learn about sportsmanship, self-discipline, perseverance and more.”
Sasha Buchert, director of the Nonbinary and Transgender Rights Project at Lambda Legal, a national LGBTQ rights legal organization, went a step further, saying the NAIA’s new policy is “inconsistent with the law and science.”
“It is unconscionable that an organization that touts its ‘strong history of advocacy’ has chosen to use its power to smack down, rather than lift up these vulnerable athletes,” Buchert said in a statement.
Both Buchert and Robinson touted recent comments by South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley, who said before her team won the NCAA championship game on Sunday that she supports trans women’s inclusion on women’s sports teams.
“I’m on the opinion of, if you’re a woman you should play,” Staley told reporters Saturday. “If you consider yourself a woman and you want to play sports, or vice versa, you should be able to play. That’s my opinion.”
LGBTQ rights organizations have filed lawsuits against a number of states with laws restricting transgender student athlete participation, arguing that they violate Title IX, a federal law that protects students from sex-based discrimination in federally funded schools, and the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
Carr, the NAIA president, said he believes the group’s new policy conforms with Title IX. “For us, we believed our first responsibility was to create fairness and competition in the NAIA,” he told CBS Sports. “We also think it aligns with the reasons Title IX was created. You’re allowed to have separate but equal opportunities for women to compete.”
So far, President Joe Biden’s administration has largely supported trans students’ access to sports teams that align with their gender identities, but more recently said it might allow some restrictions on their participation. In January 2021, the Education Department published a federal notice that it would interpret Title IX to protect LGBTQ students from discrimination.
Then, in April 2023, the department proposed a rule that would change Title IX to bar blanket prohibitions on trans students competing on sports teams that align with their gender identities. However, the measure would permit some restrictions in more elite levels of sports competition, such as high school and college. The department planned to finalize and release that rule in March, though there have been multiple delays.
The U.S. Women’s National Team Players Association issued a statement Tuesday in support of LGBTQ rights in the wake of a controversy over midfielder Korbin Albert’s social media posts.
The USWNTPA’s statement came in the hours before Albert appeared as a substitute for the national team in the SheBelieves Cup final against Canada. It was Albert’s second match with the team since the posts came to light. The statement did not mention Albert by name.
“The women’s soccer community is one of joy, excitement, kindness and love. We have worked to ensure our community is safe, inclusive and welcoming to everyone. As allies and members of the LGBTQIA+ community, those efforts will not stop,” the statement said.
“Across the country, human rights are being stripped away. LGBTQIA+ rights are human rights. Trans rights are human rights,” the statement continued. “Today and every day the USWNT Players will stand up for those rights.”
Alex Morgan and Lindsey Horan addressed the issue last week during camp. Morgan said it was handled internally.
“We stand by maintaining a safe and respectful space, especially as allies and members of the LGBTQ+ community. This platform has given us an opportunity to highlight causes that matter to us, something that we never take for granted. We’ll keep using this platform to give attention to causes,” Morgan said.
New York state officials may continue to take legal action against a county outside New York City that has banned transgender players from women’s and girls teams, a judge ruled Thursday.
U.S. District Court Judge Nusrat Choudhury denied Nassau County’s request for a temporary restraining order against state Attorney General Letitia James, saying the Long Island county “falls far short of meeting the high bar for securing the extraordinary relief.”
Among other things, Choudhury said the county failed to “demonstrate irreparable harm,” which she said was a “critical prerequisite” for such an order.
The ruling, however, doesn’t address the legality of the county’s ban or James’ request that the lawsuit be dismissed. Those issues will be decided at a later date.
Last month, James, a Democrat, issued a “cease and desist” letter to the county demanding it rescind the ban because she said it violates New York’s anti-discrimination laws. The ban also faces a legal challenge from a local women’s roller derby league, which has asked a state court to invalidate it.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican, responded to James’ action with a federal lawsuit asking a judge to affirm that the ban was legal and to prevent James from taking action against it.
Blakeman’s February order, which affects more than 100 public facilities in the county just east of the New York City borough of Queens, states that any female sports organization that accepts transgender women or girls will be denied permits to use county-owned parks and fields.
Echoing the arguments of officials who have taken similar actions in other Republican-led cities and states, the county says women and girls will be discriminated against and their constitutional rights to equal protection will be violated if transgender athletes are allowed to compete alongside them.
James and Blakeman’s offices did not respond to emails seeking comment Thursday.
Cardiff has been chosen to host the EuroGames in 2027, marking the first time the LGBTQ+-inclusive event has been held in the UK.
LGBTQ+ sports development and inclusion organisation, Pride Sports Cymru, has been successful in ensuring that Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ sporting event would be staged in the Welsh capital.
The first EuroGames, governed by the European Gay and Lesbian Sport Federation, was held in The Hague in The Netherlands in 1992 and this year’s event will be staged in the Austrian capital, Vienna, in July.
Up to 10,000 athletes, including transgender sportsmen and women, are expected to descend on Cardiff in 2027.
The chairperson of Cardiff Dragons – Wales’ first mixed gender LGBTQ+ football club – Charlotte Galloway told the BBC: “People are allowed to identify and play in their authentic gender. That means trans women can play in the women’s category and trans men can play in the men’s category.
“I think it’s really important that we’re able to do this because there’s no other competition this big in Europe that allows gender-non-conforming people, trans people and non-binary people to compete this way.”
It shows that sport is for everyone, she added.
Duncan Cameron, the chairperson of gay and inclusive rugby union club Cardiff Lions, said: “One of the greatest things about the EuroGames is that it’s open to anybody, no matter how they identify, no matter who you are.
“A lot of people don’t know that there are inclusive rugby teams or football teams [and lots of other] sports that are going to be highlighted. It’s a great chance for us to show what we can do on a national and global stage.”
And Neil Roberts, from LGBTQ+-inclusive badminton club the Cardiff Red Kites, responded to the news by saying the games could help “embed the culture that sport is something everyone should enjoy, regardless of who they are, who they love, what race or what background they come from”.
Meanwhile, Pride Sports director Lou Englefield said: “We’re delighted to be bringing a EuroGames to Wales. It is a huge privilege. [It’s] an opportunity to highlight Wales’ commitment to become the most LGBTQ+-friendly nation in Europe.”
Pride Sports team member Jess Williams, added: “A EuroGames in Wales will be transformative for LGBTQ+ people in sport, and indeed the whole community. The legacy the games will create, and opportunity for positive change, is enormous.”
The chief executive of the Welsh Sports Association, Andrew Howard, congratulated Pride Sports Cymru on its successful bid. “The event will undoubtedly prove a celebration and awe-inspiring showcase of inclusive sport, in a first for Cardiff and the UK,” he said.
They zip around the rink, armed with helmets, pads and mouthguards. They push, bump and occasionally crash out as they jostle for position on the hardwood floor.
But for the women of the Long Island Roller Rebels, their biggest battle is taking place outside the suburban strip-mall roller rink where they’re girding for the upcoming roller derby season.
The nearly 20-year-old amateur league is suing a county leader over an executive order meant to prevent women’s and girl’s leagues and teams with transgender players from using county-run parks and fields. The league’s legal effort, backed by the New York Civil Liberties Union, has thrust it into the national discussion over the rights of transgender athletes.
Amanda Urena, the league’s vice president, said there was never any question the group would take a stand.
“The whole point of derby has been to be this thing where people feel welcome,” said the 32-year-old Long Island native, who competes as “Curly Fry” and identifies as queer, at a recent practice at United Skates of America in Seaford. “We want trans women to know that we want you to come play with us, and we’ll do our very best to keep fighting and making sure that this is a safe space for you to play.”
Amanda “Curly Fry” Urena at United Skates of America in Seaford, N.Y., on March 19, 2023. Jeenah Moon / AP
Sports leagues and teams seeking permits to play or practice in county-run parks must disclose whether they have or allow transgender women or girls. Any organization that allows them to play will be denied a permit, though men’s leagues and teams aren’t affected.
Bills restricting trans youths’ ability to participate in sports have already passed in some 24 states as part of an explosion of anti-trans legislation on many subjects in recent years. The largest school district in Manhattan is among localities also weighing a ban, following a school board vote last week.
The Roller Rebels sought a county permit this month in hopes of hosting practices and games in county-owned rinks in the upcoming season, as they have in prior years. But they expect to be denied, since the organization is open to anyone who identifies as a woman and has one transgender player already on the roster.
The ban will also make it hard for the league, which has two teams and about 25 players, to recruit and will hurt its ability to host competitions with other leagues, Urena said.
State Attorney General Letitia James has demanded the county rescind the ban, saying it violates state anti-discrimination laws, while Blakeman has asked a federal judge to uphold it.
That a roller derby league has become the face of opposition isn’t surprising: the sport has long been a haven for queer and transgender women, said Margot Atwell, who played in a women’s league in New York City and wrote “Derby Life,” a book about roller derby.
The sport, which dates at least to the 1930s and enjoyed its heyday in the 1970s, involves two teams racing around a track as their designated “jammer” attempts to score points by lapping the other skaters, who are allowed to use their hips, chests and shoulders to slow them down.
The latest revival started in the early 2000s and has been sustained by LGBTQ+ people, with leagues frequently taking part in Pride parades and holding fundraising matches, Atwell said.
“You come in here and you say, ‘I’m a trans woman. I’m a nonbinary person. I’m genderqueer.’ OK? We accept you,” said Caitlin Carroll, a Roller Rebel who competes as “Catastrophic Danger.” “The world is scary enough. You should have a safe place to be.”
Blakeman has said he wants to ensure female athletes can compete safely and fairly. He held a news conference last week with Caitlyn Jenner, who won Olympic gold in the men’s decathlon in 1976 and later underwent a gender transition. Jenner, a Republican who’s frequently at political odds with the greater transgender community, has endorsed the ban.
Blakeman, a Republican who was elected in 2021, has said constituents asked his office to act. But many critics dismiss the ban as political posturing, noting he has acknowledged there have been no local complaints involving transgender players on women’s teams.
“This is a solution in search of a problem,” said Emily Santosus, a 48-year old transgender woman on Long Island who hopes to join a women’s softball team. “We’re not bullies. We’re the ones that get bullied.”
The ones who will suffer most aren’t elite athletes, but children still trying to navigate their gender identities, added Grace McKenzie, a transgender woman who plays for the New York Rugby Club’s women’s team.
Members of the Long Island Roller Rebels during practice at United Skates of America in Seaford, N.Y., on March 19, 2023.Jeenah Moon / AP
“Cruel is the only word that I can use to describe it,” the 30-year-old Brooklyn resident said. “Kids are using sports at that age to build relationships, make friendships, develop teamwork skills, leadership skills and, frankly, just help shield them from all the hate they face as transgender kids already.”
In the larger discussion about trans women in sports, each side points to limited research to support their opinion. And bans often do not distinguish between girls and women who took puberty blockers as part of their transition — stunting the development of a male-typical physique — and those who didn’t, something one New York advocate pointed out.
The order in Nassau County puts some younger trans girls at greater risk by potentially pitting them against boys instead, said Juli Grey-Owens, leader of Gender Equality New York.
“They are not hitting puberty, so they’re not growing, they’re not getting that body strength, the endurance, the agility, the big feet, the large legs,” Grey-Owens said.
The ban could even lead to cisgender female athletes who are strong and muscular being falsely labeled transgender and disqualified, as has happened elsewhere, said Shane Diamond, a transgender man who plays recreational LGBTQ+ ice hockey in New York City.
“It creates a system where any young woman who doesn’t fit the stereotypical idea of femininity and womanhood is at risk of having her gender questioned or gender policed,” Diamond said.
A 2022 Washington Post-University of Maryland Poll found that 55% of Americans were opposed to allowing trans women and girls to compete with other women and girls in high school sports, and 58% opposed it for college and pro sports.
Two cisgender female athletes said after listening to Jenner that men are stronger than women, so it will never be fair if transgender women and girls are allowed to compete.
“There is a chance I would get hurt in those situations,” said Trinity Reed, 21, who plays lacrosse at Nassau County’s Hofstra University.
Mia Babino, 18, plays field hockey at the State University of New York at Cortland and plans to transfer to Nassau County’s Molloy University.
“We’ve worked very hard to get to where we are and to play at a college level,” she said.
But that attitude runs against everything athletic competition stands for, and it sells women and their potential short, countered Urena, of the Roller Rebels.
“If people gave up playing sports because they thought they were going to lose, we wouldn’t have a sports industry,” they said. “I love playing against people that are faster and stronger because that’s how I get better.”
