Long Island lawmakers SUE NY AG Letitia James for trying to block their ban on transgender athletes by claiming it's 'illegal'

A Long Island county executive announced on Wednesday that he is suing New York Attorney General Letitia James after she attempted to block the county's ban on transgender athletes.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman issued an executive order on February 22 that bans all sports organizations from using county-run athletic facilities if they allow transgender girls and women to compete against biological females.

The order went into effect immediately and impacts more than 100 sites across the county, including fields, courts, pool, and ice rinks.

Last Friday, however, James issued a 'cease and desist' letter that claimed the order is violation of New York's anti-discrimination laws and must be rescinded promptly.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman announced Wednesday that he is suing NY AG Letitia James over her attempt to prevent a ban on transgender female athletes from competing on women's teams

James called the Long Island executive's order 'illegal,' claiming it is a clear violation of the state's anti-discrimination laws

Specifically, the order states that male-born athletes are barred from competing on all-female teams. They remain perfectly able to compete on co-ed or all male teams - or transgender specific teams if a given organization wants to establish one.

In a statement, James called the order 'illegal.'

'The law is perfectly clear: You cannot discriminate against a person because of their gender identity or expression. This executive order is transphobic and blatantly illegal,' she said.

The AG also said the order will deter teams from other areas from competing in Nassau, in addition to potentially subjecting female teams to 'intrusive and invasive questioning.'

Blakeman fired back at James by filing a lawsuit that claims her demands are unconstitutional.

'What the attorney general is asking us to do is a violation of federal constitutional law and federal statutory law so our response was to file a lawsuit,' he said.

The county exec. says the goal of the order is to protect female athletes from biologically male athletes who are bigger, stronger, and faster.

He is joined in  is newly filed suit by a local Nassau family.

'We're not being anti-transgender at all. I take great offense to that, we're a kind and generous and loving community,' he said.

When he announced the ban last month, Blakeman said: 'There is a movement for biological males to bully their way into competing in sports or leagues or teams that identify themselves as or advertise themselves as girls or females.'

'If a league or team identifies themselves or advertises themselves to be a girls or women's league or team, then biological males should not be competing,' he said.

'This is not precluding anybody from participating in sports, what it is, it's identifying that there are women and girls who spend a tremendous amount of time and effort to excel and compete in their sports that are women's sports.'

Blakeman insists that the order is 'not anti-transgender at all - I take great offense to that, we're a kind and generous and loving community'

The highest profile incident of a biological male competing against female athletes was when University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas , who formerly swam for the men's team at the Ivy League, became the first transgender Division 1 champion in history

The highest profile incident of a biological male competing against female athletes was when University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, who formerly swam for the men's team at the Ivy League, became the first transgender Division 1 champion in history.

Presently, Thomas is suing the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland, which recently banned athletes who went through 'any part of male puberty' from competing in the women's category. 

The ban includes the Olympics and world championships and was enacted in response to the fury sparked by Thomas' smashing biological female competition which triggered claims of unfairness. 

Thomas, 24, who has not competed since 2022, is so optimistic about her chances that she hopes to compete in the Paris Olympics, it is believed. However, her case is unlikely to be heard before the Summer games begin on July 26.