A volleyball player who was partially paralyzed by a transgender opponent has criticized the Olympics for allowing biological men to compete in women’s boxing.
Payton McNabb was 17 when a ball hit hard by a trans opponent hit her in the face, knocked her to the ground and left her unconscious for 30 seconds.
The 6-foot-10 player appeared to laugh with joy, McNabb said, after being thrown to the ground, as did other players on the opposing team.
Ms. McNabb was left with brain damage and paralysis on her right side, which ended her dreams of earning a college volleyball scholarship and has made it difficult for her to walk without falling.
She told DailyMail.com it was “disgusting” that trans women had been allowed to box with women at this year’s Games in Paris. She fears women could suffer worse injuries than her own.
Payton McNabb, now 19 and from North Carolina, saw her athletic career cut short after being hit by a ball traveling at 70 mph that was hit by a transgender athlete.
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif pictured after winning a fight
She said: ‘There is a biological difference between the two (trans women and women), there is a difference in sports because of this in the first place.
“It is dangerous for the two sexes to compete with each other, and it is not right. Personally, I find it repugnant. It is morally wrong and perverse.
She added: ‘These women have worked so hard and trained tirelessly to get to the Olympics, all so that some guy can punch them in the face.
“It used to be illegal for men to hit women, and now people put it on television and watch it. We live in a very strange reality.”
Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting were banned from competing at the Women’s World Boxing Championships in March last year in New Delhi because they failed gender eligibility tests.
But the organisers of the Paris Olympics have given them permission to fight in the women’s divisions.
Ms. McNabb, now 19, knows all too well the dangerous advantage of physical imbalance that biological males possess.
The North Carolina native was hit in the face by a ball traveling at 70 mph while playing a game in September 2022.
The ball had been hit by the tall, thin transgender player, who towered over her teammates on both sides.
Ms McNabb was left unconscious for 30 seconds on the ground with her arms stretched upwards in a “fencing” position.
Doctors diagnosed him with a traumatic brain injury, concussion, partial paralysis on his right side, whiplash and vision problems, which he still deals with today, almost two years later.
Ms McNabb said she is still battling the effects of her injury to this day, including headaches and partial paralysis on the right side of her body, which leads to her regularly losing her balance and falling.
McNabb, now a communications student at Western Carolina University, says she still has difficulty moving the right side of her body, leading to regular loss of balance and falls.
Her mental acuity is also damaged and Ms. McNabb requires extra tutoring hours each month and extra time during exams due to the damage.
And he has struggled with much worse vision, anxiety and depression as he struggles to recover from his injuries.
The student, who played volleyball, softball and basketball, also saw her sports career cut short from the start, as she says she can no longer play like she used to.
Experts say there is a risk of injuries such as concussions when playing volleyball, regardless of the gender of the players.
But women hit by balls thrown by trans players report that they travel faster and harder than anything they have previously experienced.
Studies have also shown that transgender players in women’s sports retain a biological advantage over their female opponents, even years after their transition began.
A major review last year found that early exposure to testosterone in trans women means they possess at least eight physical and mental attributes that could give them an advantage in sports.
Trans women have also been shown to have greater muscle mass and bone density, as well as larger lungs, higher blood oxygen levels, and greater connections in the area of the brain responsible for spatial awareness.
And a British study A 2021 study involving 46 transgender women found that they retained an advantage in push-ups and sit-ups over biological women for up to two years after they began taking feminizing hormones. It also showed that they had an advantage in running speed.
Brianda Tamara, who fought transgender boxer Imane Khelif in December 2022, revealed these images online detailing her injuries after the fight.
She said she was lucky to leave the ring that day and felt “very out of place” during the match.
Footage has emerged online of a boxer – who was allowed to compete at the Olympics despite being banned from the world boxing championships – delivering brutal blows to an opponent, fuelling fears over the safety of female competitors.
Concerns have been raised over the inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s boxing at the Olympics after a video showed Imane Khelif delivering brutal blows to her competitor, Mexican Brianda Tamara.
The match took place in December 2022, and Tamara said afterwards that she had felt “very out of place”.
“His punches hurt me a lot,” she revealed, “I don’t think I’ve ever felt that way in my 13 years as a boxer, or in my sparring with men.”
‘Thank God I got out of the ring safe and sound that day.’
He has since also revealed photographs online showing images of severe bruising on his face after the match.
Khelif claimed online that they were banned from the matches due to a “conspiracy” to prevent Algeria from winning a gold medal.
Ms Payton’s experience has led her to become an ambassador for the Independent Women’s Forum, which advocates for equality in women’s sport.
A statement she gave to the North Carolina legislature last year was instrumental in its decision to pass a law blocking transgender athletes from women’s sports.
She says she does this for her younger sister and other female athletes coming after her, to help them avoid the same injuries.
The athlete who caused McNabb’s injuries (who McNabb chose not to name) has yet to apologize for them and has only sent him one message since to explain why he shot.
The player also previously wrote in a TikTok video: ‘I literally hit her because she took out the net when she was supposed to be blocking and gave me an easy shot down the line.
“And I OBVIOUSLY didn’t mean to punch her in the face. I mean, I’m not actually evil in the way you think I am, believe it or not.”