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Payton McNabb's dreams of becoming a college athlete were shattered at the age of 17 after a volleyball incident involving a transgender opponent left her with life-altering injuries. Now 19, she shared her journey in the documentary, ‘Kill Shot: How Payton McNabb Turned Tragedy Into Triumph,' to raise awareness and prevent similar incidents.
“If my story can in any way help prevent this from happening to at least just one woman or girl, then it was all worth it,” The New York Post quoted McNabb as saying.
At 17, McNabb was struck by a spiked ball during a high school match, an event that not only ended her athletic ambitions but reshaped the national conversation around fairness and safety in female sports.
Before the game in 2022, McNabb and her teammates from a North Carolina school had concerns about competing against a team with a transgender player but felt silenced. “We never thought we would ever be put in this position to begin with. I didn't know one person who agreed with (a transgender athlete competing against us) on my team, but we didn't know what to do,” McNabb told The New York Post.
The game seemed routine until the opposing transgender player spiked the ball into McNabb's head, leaving her unconscious for 30 seconds. McNabb was rushed off the court, leaving her team to continue the match. The injuries she sustained — a concussion, neck damage and two black eyes — were just the beginning.
In the weeks that followed, McNabb was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, a brain bleed, partial paralysis and loss of peripheral vision on her right side. Cognitive impairments such as memory loss and confusion, coupled with severe headaches, have become a constant struggle.
“It was 100 per cent avoidable if only my rights as a female athlete had been more important than a man's feelings,” she was quoted as saying.
Her mother, Pamela McNabb, said, “The guilt Payton's father and I carry is heavy. At the time we weren't allowed to speak up. We couldn't say, ‘No, she's not playing against a boy, it's dangerous'.”
McNabb was forced to sit out the remainder of her senior volleyball season.
In April 2023, McNabb testified before the North Carolina General Assembly in support of the Fairness in Women's Sports Bill, sharing her story to advocate for legislation banning transgender athletes from competing in women's sports. Soon, legislation was passed that prohibits transgender athletes from competing in women's sports at the middle school, high school, and collegiate levels in North Carolina.
The transgender athlete involved in the incident never apologised but once sent McNabb an Instagram message, saying, “Wow I really am living rent-free in your head, aren't I?”
Despite these challenges, McNabb remains undeterred in her advocacy. “it doesn't bother me because I know what I'm saying is common sense,” she said.
The documentary, ‘Kill Shot: How Payton McNabb Turned Tragedy Into Triumph,' includes raw footage of the incident and interviews with McNabb, her family and her sister.