Nassau County has sued New York AG Letitia James for her moves to block a county order that bans men from competing in women’s sports.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has been sued by a Nassau County executive, who accused her of unconstitutional discrimination when she issued a cease and desist letter and threatened legal action to force the county to allow female-identifying males to compete in women’s sports.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said in a post on X that he filed the lawsuit “to protect women’s sports and ensure a safe environment for women.”
On behalf of the hundreds of thousands of women and girls in Nassau County, I have filed a federal lawsuit against @NewYorkStateAG to protect women’s sports and ensure a safe environment for women.
— Bruce Blakeman (@NassauExec) March 6, 2024
Bullying of women and girls will not be tolerated! https://t.co/i6bC6DftQG
“Bullying of women and girls will not be tolerated!” he added.
Mr. Blakeman filed his complaint (pdf) on March 5 in the Eastern District of New York, with his lawsuit seeking to block Ms. James from stopping his executive order that imposes a transgender sports ban at county-run facilities.
He argued that Ms. James’ cease and desist order violates the constitutional rights of girls and women, while accusing her of “unconstitutionally discriminating against individuals on the basis of gender” in context of sporting events.
New York’s Nassau County issued an executive order on Feb. 22 that bans male players from competing at county-run facilities in any league that doesn’t correspond to their biological sex or that isn’t a coed or mixed league.
“There is a movement for biological males to bully their way into competing in sports or leagues or teams that identify themselves or advertise themselves as girls’ or female or women’s teams or leagues,” Mr. Blakeman said at a Feb. 22 press conference.
“We find that unacceptable. It’s a form of bullying,” he said at the time.
In response, Ms. James demanded that the executive order be revoked, arguing that New York law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, as well as “gender identity or expression.”
A spokesperson for Ms. James’ office told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that it believes Mr. Blakeman’s executive order is “transphobic and discriminatory” and violates New York state law.
“This is not up for debate: the executive order is illegal, and it will not stand in New York,” the spokesperson said.
