LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 18: Caitlyn Jenner speaks at the 4th annual Women's March LA: Women Rising at Pershing Square on January 18, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images)
Reality television star Caitlyn Jenner has come out in support of a New York county’s ban on transgender female athletes.
Jenner, a transwoman, came out to the public in April 2015.
Jenner is also a former Olympic gold medalist, who won the men’s decathlon competition at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Canada.
Last week, Jenner supported the ban on trans athletes during a press conference alongside Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman in Mineola.
The ban would prevent transgender athletes on female sports teams from using county-owned facilities. It applies to over 100 athletic facilities in New York City’s Long Island suburbs, including ballfields, basketball and tennis courts, swimming pools and ice rinks.
The ban does not apply to trans men, only trans women.
She said that having trans women compete would “ruin women’s sports” in the future.
“Let’s stop it now while we can,” she urged people.
Her comments have received criticism, questioning why she is for the ban as a trans woman. The LGBT Network called her statements a “baffling contradiction” considering her own identity.
“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,” said David Kilmnick, the network’s president. “Such actions only serve to amplify the voices of intolerance and detract from the collective efforts towards a more inclusive society.”
Jenner has stated that while she feels sympathy for the LGBTQ community and “understands their struggles,” she fears that allowing transgender people to compete with women would undermine the gains female athletes achieved.
“All I’m trying to do is protect women,” she insisted during the press conference.
Jenner, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, strongly opposes transgender athletes competing in women’s sports. Originally from New York, she has lived in the Los Angeles area for decades and ran for California governor as a Republican in 2021.
Blakeman argues that the ban will foster fair play and protect women from getting injured.
His executive order also applies to non-contact sports like swimming and gymnastics.
The Long Island Roller Rebels, a local women’s roller derby league, has challenged the order in court, claiming it violates anti-discrimination laws.
The New York Civil Liberties Union criticized Jenner’s support for the ban, calling her appearance at the conference “another disgraceful attempt” to target transgender women.
Attorney General Letitia James (D) called the ban “transphobic and discriminatory,” adding that it also violates state law.
Blakeman is taking legal action in New York to have a federal court confirm the legality of an order. This order is part of a larger trend of anti-transgender athletic restrictions across the country. Laws that prevent transgender youth from playing sports have been passed in approximately 24 states, but some of these laws are facing legal challenges.
Last weekend, Jenner attacked President Joe Biden for recognizing National Trans Visibility Day, which fell on Easter this year for the first time.
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