Payton McNabb, a former high school athlete who was brutally injured by a male on a rival volleyball team, has endured a difficult few years since the incident.
But when the President of the United States honored her in front of the entire nation this past week, she may have finally had the last laugh.
McNabb was an avid softball and volleyball athlete who intended to play in college, but her dream was ended one fateful day in 2022, when a self-described transgender male athlete spiked a volleyball at her head and neck.
The incident led to partial paralysis and other complications that will likely follow her for the rest of her days.
But two years later, when she was a student at Western Carolina University, another encounter with a man cosplaying as a woman would also change her life.
She confronted that man in a women’s restroom out of fear for her own safety and posted a video of the encounter on X.
“What are you doing?” McNabb asked. “Going to the bathroom,” the man replied.
“Why are you in the girls’ bathroom?” she challenged. “Because I’m a trans girl,” the man said.
“I pay a lot of money to be safe in the bathroom,” McNabb observed.
Did Payton come out of this entire mess looking better than her sorority?
A man using the girls bathroom at Western Carolina University. Unreal pic.twitter.com/yPXXBN8Aqd
— Payton McNabb (@paytonmcnabb_) May 2, 2024
McNabb was not physically harmed by the incident, but she was hit with accusations of “bullying” by her sorority, Delta Zeta, according to a Thursday report from The Daily Signal.
Delta Zeta said last May that McNabb was guilty of violating its anti-bullying policy and kicked her out of the organization.
She apparently involved herself in conduct “reasonably perceived as being dehumanizing, intimidating, hostile, threatening, or otherwise likely to evoke fear of physical harm or emotional distress.”
Will Frankenberger, the chief learning officer of Delta Zeta and an open leftist, oversaw the disciplinary hearing.
Ah, now it all makes sense. Delta Zeta has given activists the power to define “bullying” however they choose and, in turn, remove girls from their sororities.
Payton was never had a chance in these hearings. This is sick, @DeltaZetaNatl. https://t.co/2z7Vhjq5iZ pic.twitter.com/vkzUHIESJY
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) March 7, 2025
But even after all of this persecution, McNabb was publicly honored before the entire nation when President Donald Trump delivered his address to Congress on Tuesday.
“Three years ago, Payton McNabb was an all-star high school athlete, one of the best, preparing for a future in college sports,” the commander-in-chief said.
“But when her girls volleyball match was invaded by a male, he smashed the ball so hard in Payton’s face, causing traumatic brain injury, partially paralyzing her right side and ending her athletic career,” he continued. “It was a shot like she’s never seen before. She’s never seen anything like it.”
“Payton is here tonight in the gallery, and Payton, from now on, schools will kick the men off the girls team or they will lose all federal funding,” Trump promised.
McNabb, who was seated next to Second Lady Usha Vance, then received a massive round of applause from senior lawmakers and federal officials.
President Trump gives a special mention to Payton McNabb, who suffered brain damage from being struck by a trans opponent during a volleyball game. pic.twitter.com/g6CGkaEsTE
— Media Research Center (@theMRC) March 5, 2025
McNabb surely never expected three years ago that she would endure so much.
She merely wanted to play high school and collegiate sports while competing against her fellow females, even though her dream was ruined by a selfish male and an even more selfish society that failed to protect her.
But her hardships have given her an incredible opportunity to fight back and do much good, even reaching the highest levels of our government.
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