Caitlyn Jenner, a former Olympic gold medalist, has expressed her support for a New York county’s ban on transgender athletes participating in girls’ and women’s sports from using county facilities.
“Trans women are competing against women, taking valuable opportunities for the long-protected class under Title IX, and causing physical harm,” Jenner stated Monday at a news conference in Mineola, New York, with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who issued the executive order on February 22.
Jenner, 74, who won the men’s decathlon at the 1976 Olympics, revealed her transgender identity in 2015 and has been a strong critic of trans women competing in women’s sports since 2021. According to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ think tank, half of the states have implemented legislation or regulations prohibiting transgender student athletes from competing on female high school sports teams since 2020.
Jenner wrote on X Saturday that she felt compelled to address the topic as a trans woman to demonstrate that “it’s biology; it’s not about exclusion or not being tolerant.”
In an interview with NBC News, David Kilmnick, head of the New York LGBT Network, an LGBTQ group on Long Island and Queens, described Jenner’s support for the order as a “baffling contradiction to her own identity.” He expressed concern that a high-profile athlete supporting Blakeman’s ban could lead to transgender youth bullying.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state’s attorney general, Letitia James, both Democrats, have condemned the restriction and accused Blakeman, a Republican, of tormenting transgender students.
James filed a “cease and desist letter” in court on March 1, demanding that Blakeman reverse the order, claiming that it violates state anti-discrimination statutes. In it, she branded the directive “transphobic” and claimed it subjected women’s and girls’ sports teams to “invasive questioning.”
Blakeman’s legal team filed its own lawsuit on March 5, claiming that James’ “cease and desist” letter violates the 14th Amendment’s equal protection guarantee.
“Not only was the executive order legal, but we had an obligation to defend it,” Blakeman stated on Monday.
Blakeman has defended the prohibition, which applies to more than 100 county-owned facilities, as vital to safeguarding cisgender girls and women from injury while playing sports. The measure does not apply to men’s sports teams.
The New York Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint against Nassau County last week, arguing that Blakeman’s executive order discriminates based on gender identity.
Blakeman’s executive order would prevent the NYCLU, a Nassau County women’s roller derby league that embraces trans women, from using county facilities.
“Trans people who play sports need support and affirmation, not to be a political target,” said NYCLU attorney Gabriella Larios in a statement. “Nassau County’s cynical attempt to shut them out of public spaces is a blatant violation of our state’s civil and human rights laws.”
Blakeman announced Monday that the same legal team that is defending James’ “cease and desist” letter would also be contesting the NYCLU’s case.
Kilmnick of the New York LGBT Network believes that rather than the government, sporting governing bodies should decide how and whether trans women should compete against cisgender women.
“It’s very dangerous when the government starts to ban groups of people and tells them what they can and cannot do,” Mr. Kilmnick added. “We’ve already gone down that road in our history, and it’s dangerous to repeat that.”
