Payton McNabb Speaks Out Against Male Competitors in Women’s Sports

Payton McNabb and Paula Scanlan were featured on The Ingraham Angle discuss the political debate around transgender athletes in women’s sports on ‘The Ingraham Angle.’

Payton McNabb, a former North Carolina high school volleyball player, has become a prominent advocate against male competitors in women’s sports following a severe injury in 2022. At 17, during a match, she was struck in the face by a volleyball spiked by a transgender-identifying male opponent, resulting in a traumatic brain injury, concussion, partial paralysis, vision impairment, and cognitive issues like memory loss. The injury ended her athletic career, including her plans for a college softball scholarship.

Since the incident, McNabb has actively campaigned for fairness in women’s sports. In April 2023, she testified before the North Carolina General Assembly, supporting the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which bans transgender athletes from female sports teams at K-12 and collegiate levels. Her testimony went viral, contributing to the bill’s passage in August 2023. She has also become an ambassador for the Independent Women’s Forum, advocating alongside figures like Riley Gaines.
McNabb’s advocacy extends beyond sports. In May 2024, she was expelled from her Delta Zeta sorority at Western Carolina University after confronting a male in a women’s bathroom, recording the encounter, and posting it online. The sorority cited violations of its “Anti-Bullying” and “Moral-Prejudicial Conduct” policies, despite support from her local chapter. McNabb faced a Title IX complaint but was cleared.

Her story gained national attention when she was honored by President Donald Trump at his March 4, 2025, congressional address and attended his signing of an executive order to exclude males from women’s sports. McNabb criticized Democrats for not supporting related legislation and for their lack of response during Trump’s speech, where they wore pink in a women’s rights protest but did not applaud her story.

McNabb’s experience is documented in the 2024 Independent Women’s Forum mini-documentary, Kill Shot: How Payton McNabb Turned Tragedy Into Triumph. She continues to advocate, emphasizing the safety and fairness of female athletes, stating, “I’m here for every biological female athlete behind me.”