The Long Island Roller Rebels, which allows transgender athletes to participate in their women’s roller derby league, successfully challenged an anti-trans policy in Nassau County.
NYCLU/Amber Yang
A New York appeals court on Nov. 4 struck down Nassau County’s policy banning trans athletes from participating in sports in accordance with their gender identity in county-run facilities.
The New York Appellate Division, Second Department, ruled that the policy — championed by Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman — ran afoul of New York State Human Rights Law and Civil Rights Law. The ruling, which overturned an October 2025 decision by Nassau County Supreme Court Justice R. Bruce Cozzens, stemmed from a 2024 lawsuit by the Long Island Roller Rebels, which allows transgender athletes to participate in their women’s roller derby league. In a separate but similar ruling, the court sided with New York State, which had also challenged the policy in the same manner.
Blakeman initially implemented the policy via executive order before lawmakers in the Nassau County Legislature also approved it.
“This is an incredible victory for transgender people in New York, especially transgender women and girls in Nassau County,” said Gabriella Larios, senior staff attorney at the NYCLU, which represented the Roller Rebels. “With this decision, the Long Island Roller Rebels will finally be able to play in their county’s athletic facilities. Today, the court made it abundantly clear that any attempt to ban trans women and girls from public spaces in New York is prohibited by our state’s anti-discrimination laws. Transgender people belong everywhere, including in sports, and the New York Civil Liberties Union will fight back against any attempt to try to shut trans people out of public life.”
Curly Fry, the president of the Long Island Roller Rebels, described the court decision as a “resounding win for trans people in New York.”
“The Roller Rebels want trans women to know that they are welcome to join our league, and trans people belong in Nassau County,” Fry said. “We are proud to come together in solidarity to push back against any idea that trans women should be excluded or shut out of public life. We deserve the joy of playing as our authentic selves, free from discrimination. Trans athletes aren’t going anywhere.”
