Payton McNabb, a student at Western Carolina University, is slated to be a special guest at President Donald Trump’s special address to Congress on Tuesday night. McNabb, of Murphy, NC, was invited to sit with First Lady Melania Trump in the gallery.
A former high school volleyball player, McNabb was severely injured by a transgender, biological male, during a match in 2022. Since then, she has been lobbying for a ban on transgender athletes in women’s sports at both the state and federal levels.
“Payton joined with the Independent Women’s Forum and has made it her mission to put an end to this brutal unfairness,” according to the White House.
Such an incredible honor to be a guest of @POTUS and @MELANIATRUMP for the State of the Union. I am deeply grateful for this opportunity to be present and to have my story recognized as part of the fight to protect women’s sports.
Thank you for giving a voice to this issue!!!
— Payton McNabb (@paytonmcnabb_) March 4, 2025
McNabb has been an staunch advocate of the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025,” which would prevent schools from receiving federal funding if they allow biological males to play in sports designated for biological females. Last Thursday, McNabb met with US Attorney General Pam Bondi and several state attorneys general to share her story, according to Fox News.
✉️ @paytonmcnabb_ has a message for the Senate regarding today’s vote on @SenTuberville‘s Protection of Women & Girls in Sports Act:https://t.co/J0IgjqtqOw pic.twitter.com/11LyevIcmd
— Independent Women’s Forum (@IWF) March 3, 2025
On Monday, a US Senate vote failed to advance the bill 51-45, falling short of the 60-vote requirement. Republicans hold 53 seats and need at least seven Democrats to cross party lines to advance the bill. McNabb called out the 45 Democrats who blocked the bill in an X post.
The @SenateDems had the chance to protect girls and women from experiencing what happened to me. Instead, they chose to abandon women—even those with daughters of their own.
This is a betrayal. Vote them out. pic.twitter.com/z7sBmtw29A
— Payton McNabb (@paytonmcnabb_) March 4, 2025
McNabb’s story began when she was 17 and suffered a traumatic brain injury after being struck in the face by a volleyball spiked by a transgender athlete on the opposing team.
She joined forces with former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines in convincing North Carolina lawmakers to pass HR 574, the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act.” The bill became law following a veto override vote in August 2023.
During a recent Title IX hearing at WCU, McNabb was cleared of “sexual harassment” accusations related to a May incident in which she confronted and recorded an individual she believed to be a biological male in the women’s bathroom.
Trump’s speech to the joint session of Congress is set to start at 9 pm, followed by a response from Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat from Michigan. Democrats are expected to protest Trump’s effort to shrink the size and cost of the federal government, many bringing former federal employees as their guests. While not technically a “State of the Union” annual speech, in keeping with presidential tradition House Speaker Mike Lee, R-Utah, invited Trump to present his vision for the next four years.