Caitlyn Jenner Continues His Support for Girls’ Sports Despite the Left’s Criticism

“There are women and girls that spend a tremendous amount of time and effort to excel and compete in their sports that are women’s sports,” said New York’s Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman. “And it is an unfair advantage for someone who is a biological male to compete against a biological female.” Blakeman made these comments in light of a unique executive order, which he signed onto Thursday that, in effect, blocks men from joining girls’ and women’s sports teams.

“If there is a league or team that advertises themselves to be women’s or girls, then biological males will not be able to compete,” Blakeman added. What makes this executive order different is that anyone who refuses to protect girls’ sports will be barred “from using any of Nassau County’s 100 ballfields and athletic facilities,” The New York Post reported.

“The ban doesn’t apply to men’s teams with transgender athletes,” The Washington Times noted, only women’s, and “it covers all Nassau County-owned facilities, including ballfields, basketball and tennis courts, swimming pools and ice rinks.” Blakeman announced on Thursday this order would “go into effect immediately,” adding, “There is too much bullying going on of biological males trying to inject themselves in women and female sports and we will not tolerate that in Nassau County.”

The decision has already been met with backlash from LGBT activists, including New York State Attorney General Letitia James (D), who called the decision “transphobic” and discriminatory. But some have been surprised to find an unlikely advocate of the policy — Caitlyn Jenner — one of the most prominent trans-identifying individuals. This week, he spoke out in strong support of the order.

“All I’m trying to do is protect women,” said the 1976 gold medal Olympian on Monday. He continued, “Trans women are competing against women, taking valuable opportunities for the long-protected class under Title IX, and causing physical harm.” He emphasized the science that men and women have differences “based on DNA.” As such, men have “massive advantages” over female competitors.

For those following the debate, Jenner’s opinion shouldn’t be surprising, since he’s been a public advocate for leveling the playing field in girls’ sports since around 2021. But during the press conference on Monday, he specifically called out the attorney general for her remarks as well as President Joe Biden.

Jenner said, “In New York, we have an activist attorney general, Letitia James, that alleges and seems to think that state laws and preferences supersede federal law — specifically Title IX and the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees no state shall deny a person equal protection under the law.” As for Biden, Jenner added, “In the United States, we have a president, Joe Biden, who has called for an amendment to Title IX as we know it. In effect it erases the protections and the hard-fought battles that women have fought in sports.”

LGBT activists praised Jenner for his “courage” and “bravery” when he came out as transgender in 2015. However, he has come to support a number of conservative causes over the years that have angered the Left.. For instance, Executive Director of Gender Equality New York Juli Grey-Owens criticized Jenner, saying, “They rolled her out as a representative of the transgender community when we have seen that she is nothing more than a reality TV star.”

On the other hand, Jenner’s support for the new rule reflects the belief of many on the Right and those who care about protecting women. In comments to The Washington Stand, Meg Kilgannon, senior fellow for Education Studies at Family Research Council, said, “When men are allowed to compete in women’s sports, fairness is no longer part of the equation. That changes everything.”

As for the executive order, she continued, “There is simply no way for men to play on women’s teams and have the outcome be the same as if men had not played on those teams. And the idea that we should make little boys avoid going through puberty so they can participate on sports teams with women at some point in the future is absurd.” However, she added, “that is what logically follows the idea that the problem is pubertal development of boys to men,” which is also “not the only issue” we face.

Ultimately, Kilgannon concluded, “Men and women are not the same, they are not interchangeable,” and the executive order seems to reflect that view.