NASSAU COUNTY, N.Y. (PIX11) -- Anybody participating in a team athletic event in Nassau County has to do so based on the gender assigned to them at birth. That was the upshot of an executive order that Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman signed into law on Thursday morning. There was immediate pushback against the measure that was announced just hours before it took place, and it's not clear what effect the executive order will have on organizations that allow transgender athletic participation that book sporting events in the county.
Blakeman signed the executive order in a ceremony attended by supporters of the measure. Holding up signs reading "Protect Women's Sports," they applauded as he put his name to the document that made it county law for all teams and organizations using county facilities to designate themselves as male, female, or co-ed based on athletes' gender assigned at birth. It applies from the youngest teams to adult sports leagues, effective immediately.
When he was asked at the news conference how many athletes his executive order might affect, Blakeman said that he didn't know exactly, but added, "The number varies, but it's between half percent and one percent of the population."
He went on to say that the county supports its transgender residents. "We encourage them to participate," Blakeman said, "just not on teams that identifies themselves as a girl's team or a women's team."
Outside of the County Legislature building, where the signing ceremony took place, a transgender rights group protested. Maria O'Leary, the mother of a trans student, is active in the organization. She said that she was embarrassed by the measure that she described as ill-conceived.
"The argument that we should ban trans children falls apart," she said about the order that Blakeman had signed while surrounded at the ceremony by dozens of girls ranging from preschool age to college, "because there's no difference in prepubescent athletes."
One of the girls who was at the ceremony with her family was ninth-grader Avery Grazioni. She plays volleyball and softball at her school in Long Beach.
She said that even though she's never had to compete against transgender athletes, the idea of doing so is worrisome.
"The fear is you have to worry about it wherever you look," she said. "Somebody can hurt you" when they handle the ball in competition, she continued. "You can get hurt by the more strength that they might have."
However, some other teen athletes, including a former varsity fencer who's transitioning from male to female and didn't want their name used, spoke to PIX11 News about their experience.
"You take testosterone blockers," they said, in an interview which lower the testosterone levels to cisgender women's levels."
The transitioning athlete also said that they felt that the executive ordered ignored research on the bodies and strength levels of transgender people, especially athletes.
"You can do a quick Google, and have all this information easily," they said.
The NCAA has held major competitive events at the Nassau County Aquatic Center. The college organization allows transgender athletes to compete, under certain circumstances. It's not clear how the new order will affect the situation with the NCAA going forward.
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