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MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) — Olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner on Monday said he supported a local New York official’s order ban women’s sports teams with transgender athletes the use of county-owned facilities.
The ban applies to more than 100 sports facilities in the Long Island suburbs of New York City. Speaking alongside Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman in her office in Mineola, Jenner said allowing transgender athletes like her to compete against other women will “ruin women’s sports” for years to come.
“Let’s stop it now while we can,” said the reality star, who came out as a transgender woman in 2015.
The LGBT Network, a Long Island-based advocacy group, called Jenner’s comments a “baffling contradiction” to her own identity as a transgender woman that is “not only hypocritical but also harmful” to the LGBTQ community.
“It is disheartening to see someone who has experienced the challenges of being marginalized actively contribute to the oppression of others within the same community,” David Kilmnick, the group’s president, said in a statement. “These actions only serve to amplify the voices of intolerance and detract from collective efforts for a more inclusive society.”
Blakeman, a Republican elected in 2021, issued a executive order in February requiring any team, league or organization applying for a permit from the county parks and recreation department to “expressly designate” whether they are male, female or co-ed athletes.
Any team designated as “women’s” would be denied permits if they allow transgender athletes to participate.
The ban does not apply to men’s teams with transgender athletes. Covers all facilities owned by Nassau County, including baseball fields, basketball and tennis courts, swimming pools and ice rinks.
Jenner, 74, competed against men when she won the Olympic gold medal in the decathlon in 1976. She said she has “sympathy” for LGBTQ people and “understands their struggles,” but argued that allowing transgender people to compete with women would undermine female achievements. athletes achieved low Title IXa law that prohibits sex discrimination in programs that receive federal funds.
“All I’m trying to do is protect women,” Jenner said Monday.
Jenner, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, has been a vocal opponent of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports. Originally from New York, she has long lived in the Los Angeles area and ran without success for governor of California as a Republican in 2021.
Blakeman has argued that the ban is intended to encourage fair play and protect girls and women from injury if they play against transgender women. Her executive order, however, also covers sports such as swimming, gymnastics, figure skating and track, where there is no physical contact between competitors.
The executive order also makes decisions about who can play outside of the leagues and hands them over to the government.
The Long Island Roller Rebels, a local women’s roller derby leagueasked a New York court to invalidate the county’s order, saying it violates state anti-discrimination laws.
The New York Civil Liberties Union, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the league, called Jenner’s appearance “another disgraceful attempt” to attack and villainize transgender women and girls. Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, said Blakeman’s order is “transphobic and discriminatory” and violates state law.
Blakeman has filed his own lawsuit asking a federal court in New York to confirm that the order was legal.
The order is part of a growing number of anti-transgender sports restrictions imposed across the country. Bills banning trans youth from participating in sports have passed in about 24 states, although some have been blocked by ongoing litigation.
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This story has been corrected to show that Blakeman was elected in 2021, not 2022.
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Follow Felipe Marcelo on twitter.com/philmarcelo.