Court Blanks Nassau Ban On Trans Athletes

A New York appeals court made a big move. It wiped away a county rule. The rule stopped transgender girls and women from playing on girls and women sports teams. The teams wanted to use county sports places. The court was the Appellate Division, Second Department. All four judges sat on it. They said the county law went against state law. State law banned some kinds of discrimination. It covered gender identity and gender expression. The court told a lower court to stop the rule. It said the rule was not valid.

The win went to Attorney General Letitia James. She sued over the policy. The county was led by Bruce Blakeman. He had pushed the policy. James got the victory. Blakeman lost his governor race. He lost to Governor Kathy Hochul. James won her own election. All four judges had been picked by Democratic governors. Former Governor Andrew Cuomo chose one judge. Governor Kathy Hochul chose another. A third judge was picked by Hochul. The last one was chosen earlier this year.

The county lawyer said the fight would go on. He said the office would review the ruling. The plan was to keep the appeals process alive. The court decision came one day after Blakeman lost. The legal fight started with an executive order. Then the county passed a law. The law let groups pick male, female or coed. It used birth sex for those labels. It stopped female teams from getting permits. Those teams had transgender female players. More than 100 county places were affected. They had fields, courts, pools and rinks.

The lower court had backed the county. The appeals court disagreed. The appeals court said state law beat the county. The judges said no athlete should have to fight to play. James said transgender athletes have rights. She said the county could not ban them. The New York Civil Liberties Union helped a women's roller derby team. That team welcomed transgender players. The state Supreme Court had backed the law. The appeals court then stepped in.