Reactions to Blakeman's transgender ban

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman continues to distract from his shirking of responsibilities as Nassau County executive [“Nassau transgender ban,” News, Feb.  23].

Since his marginal win against former County Executive Laura Curran in 2021, after campaigning on the promise of $128 million in tax cuts, Blakeman has excluded every tax cut in his annual budget proposals.

In 2022, amid the high rates of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the county, he issued a series of orders against mask mandates in schools.

What has he been doing instead as county executive? Attacking the participation of the county’s small percentage of transgender girls in athletics, a right which is supported by experts in the field, including the National Women’s Law Center.

Blakeman’s order does not mention transgender boys — instead hiding his under-researched and dangerous “order” behind a thin veil of Victorian-era patriarchal values and personal opinion.

“Part of good government is listening to your constituents,” Blakeman said in a recent interview. Listen to this constituent, sir — do your job, and leave trans kids alone.

 — Carter Allen, Garden City

I am very disappointed in the position of Newsday’s editorial board [“Blakeman should just do his job,” Editorial, Feb. 26].

I am happy someone in power is addressing this foolish idea that people born male are allowed to compete against athletes born female.

Those who have been involved in a sport requiring plenty of hard work, dedication and effort would understand the unfairness of trying to beat someone who has the musculature and stamina of a male. Shame on the board for being so woke and uninformed.

Just last week, a trans girl basketball player caused injuries to three biological females, causing them to forfeit the game due to lack of healthy players. Is this what some people want? I hope not.

 — Bob Cavaliere, Port Jefferson Station

Having been a personal trainer for over 25 years, I’ve followed this trans athlete debate for years.

Before puberty, boys’ and girls’ athleticism is basically the same. After puberty, testosterone levels rise and boys become bigger and stronger. But with hormone treatments, the playing field levels out, although men who took female hormones after puberty may have larger bone structure; but so do some of those born female over others born female. At 5-foot-1, I’d find it a challenge playing pro basketball, although there are divisions in all sports.

In the Olympics, this is a complex issue for doctors and experts, not politicians. The religious views of some Republicans against the LGBTQ+ community are legendary.

The transgendered have rights, and not allowing them to play a sport is discriminatory. Trans individuals are the most discriminated and marginalized in our society, leading to higher suicide rates. That’s especially true when they’re treated as less than a person, nonexistent or even demonized.

 — Carolyn Mann, East Meadow

Kudos to Bruce Blakeman for making the commonsense decision to ban transgender girls — i.e., biological boys — from competing in girls’ sports in Nassau County athletic facilities.

It is patently unfair for a person of superior weight, musculature and speed to deprive females of scholarships and titles they have worked tirelessly to earn. Just as important, it is dangerous for biological females to compete with transgender athletes.

In September 2022, a high school girls volleyball player in North Carolina suffered a concussion when a transgender girl spiked the ball in her face. In April 2022, three girls playing rugby in Guam were injured by a transgender girl’s tackles.

To make matters worse, biological females have to contend with transgender girls in their locker room displaying their male genitalia and violating the women’s privacy.

It’s about time for other leaders to display Blakeman’s courage and do the right thing for our girls and women.

 — Diane Webster, Lynbrook

I found it disturbing that Bruce Blakeman chose to surround himself with young girls carrying pink signs that said “Protect Women’s Rights.” Why are they indoctrinating them into such rhetoric? Children have enough to navigate without pushing them to label as “other” another group of students. They are, in effect, being carefully taught to exclude certain classmates.

“Protecting women’s rights” is the last thing that the Republican Party has done in this country. The repeal of Roe v. Wade and the bizarre declaration out of Alabama that embryos are protected babies show that women are quickly becoming less protected than they have been in decades. Politicians like Blakeman are why I’ll never vote for another Republican.

 — Marybeth Bevan, West Islip

I feel Bruce Blakeman is doing his job as county executive by being proactive and enforcing common sense into this misguided agenda. Transgender girls have an unfair advantage over biological girls in sports.

— Gerard Mortensen, Woodside

Shame on Bruce Blakeman. With all the problems facing Nassau County including a public hospital in severe financial crisis, how does he choose to spend his time? He sees fit to call a news conference and take kids out of school to solve a problem that he admits does not exist.

In the process, he undermines young people who are already bullied and marginalized. Does anyone in their right mind think a teenage boy is going to say he’s a girl so he can play on a girls team?

Enough with beating up on kids who have been dealt a particularly difficult hand in this life. In 2022, about 1.4% of 13-17-year-olds nationwide identify as transgender. Of those, how many might be involved in sports? A little compassion could go a long way.

Political cartoonist Matt Davies got it right [Opinion, Feb. 23]: It is nothing more than “anti-trans fearmongering” to distract from the serious issues facing our county.

 — Alison Kent Bermant, East Norwich