Payton McNabb wasn’t an activist — just a volleyball-loving sorority girl. And yet, she’s experienced firsthand how the feelings of men are prioritized over safety and respect.

McNabb’s story goes back to September 2022, when she was severely injured by a biological male who identified as transgender. At 17 years old, McNabb was forced to compete against a man of superior height and strength. She quickly faced the harsh reality of just how vastly different their builds were. The male player took a powerful strike to the ball, smashing McNabb in the head. This resulted in a devastating injury that caused a slew of neurological issues including partial paralysis and memory loss.

“Neither I nor anyone else on the team agreed with [the transgender athlete being allowed to play] and were against it from the beginning,” she said at the time. “We were all just so confused by how it could be allowed, and I guess we just had no idea what to do.” After she was hit, she stated, “the boy who hit me and the girls on his team were standing on the other side of the net laughing at me.” From this moment on, McNabb was determined to use her voice to fight for fairness and safety in women’s sports.

And yet, her fight didn’t stay strictly in sports. In May 2024, she found herself inside a women’s school bathroom at Western Carolina University with a biological male wearing a dress. Bothered, she recorded a video of her confronting the man, calmly expressing her concern. However, when her sorority caught wind of this, they called a meeting and ended up accusing McNabb of violating the sorority’s “Anti-Bullying Policy” as well as engaging in “Moral-Prejudicial Conduct.”

The sorority defined bullying as “any gesture or written, verbal, graphic or physical act … that is reasonably perceived as being dehumanizing, intimidating, hostile, humiliating, threatening, or otherwise likely to evoke fear of physical harm or emotional distress.” This is ultimately what they accused McNabb of due to her concern in the bathroom, despite the fact McNabb did not appear to do any of this in the video. Nonetheless, they chose to expel her from the sorority with this blunt message: “your membership will be terminated effective immediately. … The decision is final and there is no additional opportunity for appeal.” McNabb was even told that her religious convictions were not able to grant her exemptions.

From brutal injuries to tense bathroom clashes and sorority exile, McNabb faced a political whirlwind in a short time frame. In fact, this all led to President Donald Trump highlighting McNabb’s story during his 2025 State of the Union. “When her girls’ volleyball match was invaded by a male,” he said, “he smashed the ball so hard in Payton’s face, causing a traumatic brain injury, partially paralyzing her right side and ending her athletic career.” Though grateful and “overwhelmed with emotions,” McNabb continues to feel the effects of the ongoing controversy.

Family Research Council’s Meg Kilgannon weighed in on the matter, telling The Washington Stand, “Actions like these taken by Delta Zeta contribute to the decline in trust for institutions generally. The unwillingness to have conversations about certain topics is part of the imposition of a belief system on a group through sheer power,” she insisted. And “in this case, we are not allowed to question the necessity of private spaces for women.” According to Kilgannon, “It’s especially heartbreaking when organizations for women allow themselves to be taken over by anti-woman and anti-human forces.”

Faith Ozenbaugh, national director of Young Women for America, agreed, adding that “Payton McNabb’s banishment from a sorority on campus for her courage in speaking up for women’s rights is a travesty.” Additionally, it serves as “yet another example of the detrimental effects of gender ideology seeping into our institutions nationwide,” which is seen “especially on college campuses.”

As Ozenbaugh explained to TWS, “Many of the women in our Young Women for America program have experienced intimidation for their beliefs within their own universities, fearing the same fate that Payton experienced first-hand for voicing an opinion on issues deemed ‘controversial’ or labeled ‘hateful.’ Their boldness, like Payton’s, is beyond admirable, but should not come at the cost of their participation in campus life.” Ultimately, “it’s hypocritical of university leadership to protect the feelings of some at the expense of the constitutional rights to free speech and personal conviction for others.”

“This is especially true in places like sororities,” she concluded, “that are meant to unify and develop young women, rather than divide and defame them.”