Caitlyn Jenner Supports A New York County’s Prohibition On Transgender Girls In Sports
Olympian Caitlyn Jenner stated on Monday that she agreed with a local New York official’s decision to exclude female sports teams that include transgender athletes from utilizing county-owned facilities.
More than a hundred sports facilities in the Long Island suburbs of New York City are affected by the restriction. At her Mineola office, Jenner warned that allowing transgender athletes to play against other women will “ruin women’s sports” for years to come. She was speaking alongside Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.
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“Let’s stop it now while we can,” stated the reality TV personality, who revealed her identity as a transgender woman in 2015.
An advocacy organization called the LGBT Network, situated on Long Island, described Jenner’s remarks as a “baffling contradiction” to her own identity as a transgender woman and as “not only hypocritical but also harmful” to the LGBTQ community.
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“It is disheartening to witness someone who has experienced the challenges of being marginalized actively contribute to the oppression of others within the same community,” The head of the organization, David Kilmnick, stated in a statement. “Such actions only serve to amplify the voices of intolerance and detract from the collective efforts towards a more inclusive society.”
In order to obtain a permit from the county’s parks and recreation department, teams, leagues, or organizations must “expressly designate” whether they are for male, female, or coed athletes. This requirement was issued by Republican candidate for governor Blakeman in February of 2021.
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Permits for any teams labeled as “female” that accept transgender athletes would be revoked.
Teams fielding athletes who identify as transgender are exempt from the prohibition. It includes all facilities held by Nassau County, such as ice rinks, swimming pools, tennis, and basketball courts, and ballfields.
When Jenner, now 74, won the gold medal in the decathlon at the 1976 Summer Olympics, she faced off against men. Although she claimed to “understand their struggles” and to have “sympathy” for LGBTQ individuals, she contended that permitting transgender athletes to compete with women would undo the progress made by female athletes under Title IX, the federal legislation that forbids sex discrimination in programs that receive funding.
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“All I’m trying to do is protect women,” Jenner declared on Monday.
A supporter of the late President Donald Trump, Jenner, has been outspoken in her criticism of transgender athletes who compete in women’s sports. She is a native of New York who has lived in the Los Angeles region for a long time. In 2021, she made an unsuccessful run as a Republican for governor of California.
According to Blakeman, the goal of the prohibition is to prevent injuries to children and women who play against transgender women while also encouraging fair play. However, other non-contact sports like track, gymnastics, swimming, and figure skating are all included by his executive order.
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Additionally, the executive order gives the government authority over who is eligible to play instead of leagues.
A women’s roller derby league in the area called the Long Island Roller Rebels sued a New York court to overturn the county order on the grounds that it was against the state’s anti-discrimination legislation.
Jenner’s appearance was referred to as “another disgraceful attempt” by the New York Civil Liberties Union, which filed the case on behalf of the league, to single out and demonize transgender women and girls. Democrat Attorney General Letitia James declared Blakeman’s order to be “transphobic and discriminatory” in addition to being against state law.
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Blakeman has filed a lawsuit of his own, requesting that a federal court in New York uphold the legality of the order.
The ruling is one of many anti-transgender sports prohibitions put in place around the country. About 24 states have approved legislation prohibiting transgender minors from playing sports, while some of these have been halted by continuing legal action.
