Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman signed an executive order Thursday that bans transgender athletes from participating on women's teams not aligned with the sex they were assigned at birth.

The order only affects events held at county-run facilities.

Blakeman says this order is not meant to exclude anyone - but to protect the integrity of women's sports.

"This is not precluding anybody from participating in sports. What it is it's identifying that there are women and girls who spend a tremendous amount of time and effort to excel and compete in their sports that are women's sports. It is an unfair advantage for someone who's a biological male to compete against a biological female," Blakeman says.

Blakeman is encouraging transgender athletes to join co-ed teams and leagues instead.

New York LGBT Network president Dr. David Kilmnick calls this decision disappointing, saying in part, "This discriminatory move not only undermines the principles of inclusivity and fairness, but also perpetuates harmful stereotypes and exclusion."