Bruce Blakeman, an executive for Nassau County, announced Wednesday that he filed a lawsuit against Democratic Attorney General Letitia James of New York after she attempted to halt a ban on biological men from participating in women’s sports.
Blakeman signed an executive order in February that banned biological males from competing in female sports at all county-run facilities, but on March 1 James sent a cease and desist letter demanding that the ban be lifted. In response, Blakeman said that the county had filed a lawsuit against James Tuesday, arguing that his order was necessary to protect female athletes from “biological males who are injecting themselves into competitions that are meant for only women” and that James’ demands violated “constitutional law.” (RELATED: University President Pushes Back On ‘Fringe Agenda’ Behind Male Athletes Competing In Women’s Sports)
“Our response was to file a lawsuit for a declaratory judgment requiring the attorney general to come before a federal judge and explain why this cease and desist order has been issued and the threat of sanctions and litigation against the county when we in Nassau County are protecting women and girls who are a protected class under the Constitution and under federal law and certainly deserve equal protection under the law,” Blakeman said.
My EO stops the bullying of women and girls by transgender males who have many outlets to compete without putting the safety and security of females in danger.
In Nassau, we will continue to fight for females’ right to be safe, secure, and have a level playing field to compete. https://t.co/sq9OI45vIn
— Bruce Blakeman (@NassauExec) March 1, 2024
James argued in her letter that the order is in “clear violation of New York State anti-discrimination laws” and forces teams to “make an impossible choice: discriminate against transgender women and girls, in violation of New York law, or find somewhere else to play.”
The lawsuit also includes Marc and Jeanine Mullen, who are parents of a “16-year-old biological female high school volleyball player,” as plaintiffs, and it referred to an incident where a high school female athlete in North Carolina was injured after playing against a biological male volleyball player who identified as transgender. The complaint argues that the Mullens must now make an “impossible determination whether to expose their 16-year-old daughter to the risk of injury by a transgender girl or simply to not play volleyball at all.”
The lawsuit also mentions Lia Thomas, a biological male swimmer who attended the University of Pennsylvania and identified as transgender, as one of the “countless other examples of the unfairness” toward female athletes. Thomas was the first biological male swimmer to win an NCAA swimming title in the women’s 500-yard freestyle final in March 2022.
“Despite Lia Thomas’ successes since transitioning to a transgender female, even some teammates noted that Thomas held an ‘unfair advantage over competition,'” the complaint reads. “Those teammates noted that ‘when it comes to sports competition, [] the biology of sex is a separate issue from someone’s gender identity. Biologically, Lia holds an unfair advantage over competition in the women’s category, as evidenced by her rankings that have bounced from #462 as a male to #1 as a female.'”
James’ office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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