Back-to-back losses for New York GOP candidate as court overturns his ban on trans athletes

A ban on transgender female athletes in Long Island has been lifted by an appellate court, the latest ruling in a case that has been ongoing with varying outcomes since 2024 — and another political blow to its mastermind.The New York State Supreme Court’s Second Appellate Division sided on Wednesday with Attorney General Letitia James’ office, ruling that the 2024 ban originally crafted by Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman was illegal and discriminatory.Blakeman, the Republican nominee in the 2026 New York gubernatorial election, just suffered a large loss to incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul in Tuesday’s midterm elections.Related: New York Republican governor candidate faces questions over the antigay company he keeps“Nobody should have to fight to play the game they love. Transgender athletes have the right to play on the court, field, or roller rink like everyone else, and today the Second Department made clear that Nassau County cannot ban them,” James said in a statement.“No one asked for this illegal and exclusionary policy,” James added. “Bruce Blakeman was just trying to stop athletes from playing with their teammates. I am pleased the court saw right through it. As long as I am attorney general, no New Yorker will be shut out of public life because of who they are.”It may not be the final word, though, as Nassau County Attorney Thomas Adams said his office is “reviewing the decision with the intention to continue the appeals process,” according to the local publication Long Island Life & Politics. Blakeman first issued the anti-trans executive order in February 2024 requiring sports organizations seeking permits for sporting events on Nassau County park properties to classify their teams as male, female, or coed based on participants’ biological sex at birth. Under the order, park permits would be issued for girls’ or women's sporting events that allowed transgender girls or women to participate, but it made no mention