a north carolina high school volleyball player said she suffered significant and long-term physical and mental injuries last fall when she was punched in the face by a transgender athlete and was able to compete on a girls’ team due to a policy set by the state high school athletic association.
Payton McNabb, a senior at Hiwassee Dam High School in Murphy, North Carolina, spoke for the first time about his injuries Wednesday during a news conference calling on state lawmakers to pass the Fairness in Sports Act. that he would ban biological males from competing on women’s sports teams, citing his own experience.
«Due to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association policy of allowing biological males to compete against biological females, my life has changed forever,» McNabb said.
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«On September 1, 2022, I was seriously injured in a high school volleyball game by a transgender athlete on the opposing team. I suffered a concussion and a neck injury that to this day I am still recovering from. I suffer from today include vision problems, partial paralysis on the right side, constant headaches, as well as anxiety and depression.»
McNabb said he was unable to compete his senior season, and although he currently plays for his school’s team softball team, she is unable to «perform as well as I have in the past» due to her injuries.
Transgender rights advocates stood outside the Ohio House of Representatives to oppose and call attention to an amendment to a bill that would ban transgender women from participating in women’s sports in high schools and colleges. (Stephen Zenner/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
«My ability to learn, retain, [and] Comprehension has also been affected, and I need accommodations at school for tests because of this.»
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McNabb acknowledged that while his athletic career is coming to an end, his purpose in speaking out about the incident now serves a larger purpose.
«I’m here for all the biological athletes behind me. My little sister, my cousins, my teammates. Allowing biological men to compete against biological women is dangerous. I may be the first to come before you with an injury, But if this doesn’t happen, I won’t be the last.»
North Carolina lawmakers approved the Law of Equity in Women’s Sports on Wednesday, a bill that would bar biological males from playing on girls’ sports teams in high school and college.
SEC champion swimmer Riley Gaines speaks during the general session of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, Texas on August 6, 2022. (REUTERS/Go Nakamura)
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«My ability to compete was taken away. Having to play against biological men is not a level playing field and it’s definitely not safe,» McNabb added.
At least 20 other states have imposed similar limits on transgender athletes at the K-12 or collegiate level. The US House of Representatives also passed a bill on Thursday to prohibit federally supported schools and universities from allowing any athlete whose biological sex was assigned at birth to be male from competing on women’s or women’s sports teams.
Associated Press contributed to this report.