🚨Long Island judge upholds law that protects women's and girls' sports
The matter concerns a man named Bratzilla who wants to play roller derby against women.
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Last year Nassau County (Long Island, NY) passed a law requiring sports teams using public facilities to identify as mixed-sex or male if the team includes a male player.
A "women's" roller derby team, the Roller Rebels, objected because one of its players is a trans-ID man.
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The man goes by Bratzilla because he is very tall and likes bratz dolls.
Roller derby is a dangerous contact sport. Its players pride themselves in being "punk." The NY women's league welcomes men who ID as women.
I wrote about this case in November.
badfacts.substack.com/p/hooters-brat…
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In July the Roller Rebels sued Nassau County in state court for violating NY law that bars discrimination by "gender identity."
It sought to block the law right away by filing a motion for a preliminary injunction. Today the judge ruled against the team.
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Judge Bruce Cozzens says men are stronger than women and he's not going to wait around for an expert witness to prove it.
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Cozzens notes that the Roller Rebels are asking a lot: not only that Bratzilla may play for them, but that his sex be a secret.
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It's legal to bar men from women's sports. Cozzens cites a 1916 precedent from NY's highest court.
He ignores a 1977 decision from an NY trial court that let Renee Richards (a man) compete in a women's tennis tournament. I wrote about that case:
badfacts.substack.com/p/renee-richar…
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Title IX comes up indirectly. Cozzens cites last year's Supreme Court decision.
This line is a bit confusing. SCOTUS did not strike down Biden's insertion of gender ID into T9, but did note it wasn't based in T9's text.
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Cozzens rules the local law doesn't discriminate by gender identity. (It discriminates by sex, which is legal.)
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Nassau County didn't move to dismiss the Roller Rebels' case. It's still alive, in discovery.
The team's lawyers at the NYCLU (state affiliate of the ACLU) announced they'll appeal Cozzens' denial of their motion for a preliminary injunction.
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The same day the Roller Rebels sued, the state filed a similar suit against Nassau County. The state didn't seek a PI.
Nassau hosts NY state championships. So while all this litigation festers, and girls in other states lose trophies, NY girls are getting fair competition.
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Find the decision and other docs on the court's website:
iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/Documen…
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