NYCLU files appeal to challenge Nassau County transgender sports ban
NASSAU COUNTY, Long Island (WABC) -- There's a new attempt to end the ban on transgender sports in Nassau County.
The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) is now appealing a ruling by the Nassau County Supreme Court.
A lower court rejected the group's motion to block the enforcement of a law, which bans transgender athletes from participating in female sports.
County legislators passed the law after a court nixed a similar ban that was put in place by County Executive Bruce Blakeman.
"The county court's ruling is inconsistent with longstanding state law, which makes clear that Nassau's ban is discriminatory," Gabriella Larios, staff attorney at the New York Civil Liberties Union said.
The NYCLU lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Long Island Roller Rebels, a Nassau County recreational women's flat-track roller derby league.
Under the local law, the league, which welcomes trans women, is barred from using the county facilities.
The Roller Rebels were also part of the NYCLU lawsuit which struck down Blakeman's executive order in May 2024.
"This ban, which legitimizes the dangerous idea that trans women should be shut out from the public sphere, is an attack on all of us," said Curly Fry, president of the Roller Rebels.
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