NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — New York County law bans transgender women Women's sports teams are currently prohibited from playing at county parks and recreation facilities.
A state appeals court on Wednesday blocked Nassau County from enforcing the ban while a lawsuit was filed on behalf of the local women's roller derby league is being played out.
The decision is made by the lower court judge supported local law On Monday, the New York Civil Liberties Union, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the roller derby league, vowed to challenge the decision.
Judge R. Bruce Cozzens ruled that the district's ban was “narrowly worded” and “does not categorically exclude transgender people from athletic participation” because they can still play in co-ed sports leagues.
But the state appellate division said in its decision that making the women's roller derby league coed would “change the league's identity,” jeopardizing not only its status in the sport's governing body but also its ability to expand its membership and find teams to compete with.
Amanda “Curly Frye” Urena, president of the Long Island Roller Rebels, said players were “thrilled” that Nassau County's “transphobic and cruel ban” had been addressed by a higher court.
Gabriella Larios, an attorney for the NYCLU, said the decision “made abundantly clear that any attempt to prevent trans women and girls from participating in sports is prohibited by our state's anti-discrimination laws.”
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman proposed the ban as a way to protect girls and women from injury while competing against transgender women. This would affect more than 100 sports venues in Long Island County near New York City.
The Republican said in an emailed statement that the district “will continue to protect the integrity and safety of women's sports.” The spokesman did not immediately respond to follow-up questions about whether he would comply with the judge's order.
Blakeman initially imposed the ban through an executive order, but it was overturned after a lawsuit by the roller derby league and the NYCLU. Republican-controlled county legislature then passed the law curbing the ban, ushering in a new round of litigation.
