JACKSON THOMPSON: Democrat-appointed judges hand Letitia James win over county trying to protect girls sports
A New York appeals court Wednesday struck down Nassau County’s law barring transgender girls and women from women’s sports teams using county facilities, handing Attorney General Letitia James a victory in her legal battle with Bruce Blakeman.
The unanimous ruling by a four-judge panel of the Appellate Division, Second Department, reversed a lower-court decision upholding the restrictions. The judges found that the county law conflicted with New York’s statewide antidiscrimination protections.
Nassau County Attorney Thomas Adams indicated the county would continue fighting.
"We are reviewing the decision with the intention to continue the appeals process," Adams said in a statement.
The decision came one day after Blakeman lost his gubernatorial challenge to Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul. James also won reelection Tuesday.
All four judges who joined the ruling were elevated to the appellate court by Democratic governors. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed Justice Betsy Barros in April 2014 and Justice Deborah Dowling in June 2021. Hochul appointed Justice Barry Warhit in May 2022 and announced Justice Lisa Ottley’s selection earlier this year.
State election records list Barros, Dowling and Warhit as Democratic candidates in their judicial election histories. Ottley ran for state Supreme Court in 2018 on the Democratic, Republican and Conservative ballot lines, according to New York City’s official voter guide.
The appeals court held that Nassau’s permit restrictions were preempted by the state Human Rights Law and Civil Rights Law, which prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or expression. It directed the lower court to enter a judgment declaring the measure invalid under the state Constitution and Municipal Home Rule Law.
"Nobody should have to fight to play the game they love. Transgender athletes have the right to play on the court, field, or roller rink like everyone else, and today the Second Department made clear that Nassau County cannot ban them," James said in a statement.
"No one asked for this illegal and exclusionary policy. Bruce Blakeman was just trying to stop athletes from playing with their teammates. I am pleased the court saw right through it."
The county law required organizations seeking permits for sporting events at county facilities to designate themselves as male, female or coed based on biological sex at birth. It prohibited permits for female events that allowed male competitors, while permitting female athletes in male and coed categories.
The restrictions did not prohibit transgender athletes from all sports participation. They prevented teams designated for women or girls from obtaining county permits if they included transgender female competitors.
The measure affected more than 100 county facilities, including athletic fields, basketball and tennis courts, swimming pools and ice rinks, according to James’ office.
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Blakeman first imposed the policy through a February 2024 executive order. After a judge struck down that order on the grounds that he lacked authority to issue it, the county Legislature passed legislation reinstating the restrictions. Blakeman signed the law July 15, 2024, prompting separate lawsuits from James and the New York Civil Liberties Union.
The NYCLU represented the Long Island Roller Rebels, an adult women’s roller derby league that welcomes transgender participants.
State Supreme Court Justice R. Bruce Cozzens upheld the law in October 2025, accepting the county’s safety and fairness arguments and reasoning that transgender athletes could participate in coed leagues. The county also argued that Title IX supported its use of biological sex to separate athletic categories.
However, the Second Department separately granted the Roller Rebels a preliminary injunction in October 2025, reversing Cozzens’ earlier refusal to temporarily block enforcement.
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In that decision, the appeals court found that limited access to private facilities had reduced the league’s practice opportunities and hurt its ranking. It also found that requiring the league to identify as mixed-sex could jeopardize its governing-body status and ability to find opponents.
The litigation unfolded alongside a broader national fight over transgender eligibility in female sports.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the challenged restrictions in West Virginia and Idaho, concluding that schools could determine eligibility for female teams by biological sex under Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause.
That ruling permitted the challenged state policies; it did not require every state to adopt such restrictions. Nassau’s case instead turned on whether the county could impose a permit policy that conflicted with New York state law.
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"As long as I am attorney general, no New Yorker will be shut out of public life because of who they are," James said.