Federalist Society judge upholds Long Island trans sports ban

A New York judge has upheld a ban on transgender female athletes competing at public facilities on Long Island.

Nassau County Supreme Court Judge Bruce Cozzens, a member of the conservative Federalist Society, ruled Monday that a county ban limiting access to sporting facilities by transgender athletes was “to protect women and girls." The law still allows trans athletes to participate in coed and male sports, but not in sports for females only.

The Long Island Roller Rebels, a roller derby league that has both cis and trans women members, challenged the local law as discriminatory. That’s the same read as LGBTQ+ advocates and New York Attorney General Letitia James, who filed an ongoing challenge to the county ordinance last year. A court had struck down an executive order enacting the ban, but the county legislature responded by passing a law with the same effect. The law requires teams seeking permits for county athletic facilities to classify players by biological sex assigned at birth.

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Cozzens said the law is written in a way that doesn’t exclude anybody from using public recreational facilities and regulates activity in a legal and reasonable fashion. He had previously declined to block the law's enforcement while the suit was pending.

"The power differential between adult individuals who are born male and those born female is substantial and therefore may be more dangerous,” Cozzens’s decision reads. “This would create additional risk to the individual and potential liability creating costs to the municipality. The municipality is not obligated to provide a recreational setting for each and every individual residing within its confines. The use of County facilities is based on the priorities and needs of the population as determined by their elected leaders.”

LGBTQ advocacy groups decried the ruling as a consequential one, especially for trans youth seeking an outlet through sports.

“Nassau County’s law is a disruptive, bullying policy intended to isolate and demonize those who already live at the margins. It denies transgender youth the simple freedom to play, to belong, and to thrive. As parents, families, and community advocates have stated from the start of this obsessive outright denial of equal treatment: the County Executive and Legislature created a ‘solution’ in search of a problem,” reads a statement from the NEW Pride Agenda.

“This is bigger than sports in just one county. Nearly 40% of LGBTQ+ young people in New York State have seriously considered suicide in the past year. Anti-trans laws across the country — including those that bar transgender students from playing on teams consistent with their gender identity – are directly contributing to rising suicide attempts among trans and nonbinary youth. Denying any youth affirming opportunities like team sports is an attack on their safety, their mental health, and their right to be themselves.”

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The New York Civil Liberties Union promised to continue fighting the ban in court.

“Today’s decision sends a chilling message that trans people don’t belong in Nassau County, but the fight doesn’t end here,” said Gabriella Larios, staff attorney at the NYCLU.

“The ruling flies in the face of longstanding state law, which makes clear that trans women and girls have the right to play sports alongside other women and girls. Despite this setback, we will challenge this decision to ensure trans girls and women can play sports freely, just like everyone else. We are confident that New York courts will ultimately see the ban for what it is – unlawful and discriminatory.”