A volleyball player who was partially paralyzed by a transgender opponent has slammed the Olympics over the boxing controversy.
Payton McNabb was 17 when a ball spiked by a trans opponent with force struck him in the face, throwing him to the ground and killing him.
The 5ft 11in trans player cackled in delight, Ms McNabb said, after sending her to the floor. Just like any other player on the opposite team.
Ms McNabb was left with brain damage and paralysis on her right side, which ended her dream of a college volleyball scholarship and made it difficult to walk without falling.
She told DailyMail.com it was ‘disgusting’ that two boxers who failed gender tests had been cleared to fight women at this year’s Olympics in Paris.
He feared that women could suffer worse injuries than he did.
Payton McNabb, now 19 years old and from North Carolina, had his sports career cut short after he was hit by a 70mph ball that was hit by a transgender athlete.
Algerian female boxer Imane Khelif pictured after winning the match
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 beginning.
‘It’s dangerous to have two (sex) competing together, and it’s just not ok. I am disgusted by this, personally. This is morally wrong and evil.
He added: “These women have worked hard and trained tirelessly to get to the Olympics, all to be beaten by men.
‘It used to be illegal for men to beat women, and now people put it on TV and watch it. This is the strange reality we live in today.’
Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting were banned from participating in the Women’s World Boxing Championships in March last year in New Delhi for failing gender eligibility tests.
At the time of his disqualification, the president of the International Boxing Association, which administers the World Boxing Championship, claimed that a genetic test showed he had an XY chromosome.
Women have two X chromosomes, while men usually have an X and a Y chromosome.
Khelif and Lin always compete as women and do not appear to be transgender or intersex (people born with sexual organs of both sexes).
But Paris Olympic organizers have cleared her to fight in the women’s division, saying her entry is subject to ‘applicable medical regulations.’
Ms McNabb, who is now 19, is well aware of the dangerous physical imbalance advantage that biological males have.
The North Carolina native was hit in the face by a 70mph ball during a game in September 2022.
Ms McNabb said she was still struggling from the effects of the injury to this day, including headaches and partial paralysis on the right side of her body which caused her to lose her balance and fall.
The ball has been hit by a tall and thin transgender player, who beats his female teammates on the side and in the opposition.
Ms McNabb was unconscious for 30 seconds on the floor with her arms locked in a ‘fence’ position.
Doctors diagnosed him with a traumatic brain injury, concussion, partial paralysis on the right side, whiplash and vision problems – which he still has to this day, almost two years later.
Now a communications student at Western Carolina University, Ms McNabb said she continues to struggle to move the right side of her body – causing her to lose balance and suffer pain.
Her mental acuity was also damaged, with Ms McNabb needing extra tutoring hours a month and extra time during tests because of the damage.
And he has struggled with worsening vision, anxiety and depression as he struggles to recover from his injuries.
The student — who played volleyball, softball and basketball — also had her sports career cut short early on, saying she could no longer play as she had known.
Experts say there is a risk of concussion-like injuries from playing volleyball, regardless of the player’s gender.
But the woman who was hit by the ball by the trans player said that it traveled faster and more powerfully than anything she had experienced before.
Studies have also shown that transgender players in women’s sports have a biological advantage over their female opponents – even years after the transition began.
A major review conducted last year found that early exposure to testosterone in trans women meant they had 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 levels of oxygen in the blood and increased connectivity in the area of the brain responsible for spatial awareness.
And a British study from 2021 involving 46 transgender women found that they had a push-up and sit-up advantage over biological women for up to two years after starting feminizing hormones. It also shows they have a speed advantage when running.
Brianda Tamara, who fights against transgender female boxer Imane Khelif in December 2022, published the pictures online detailing her injuries after the fight.
He said he was lucky to leave the ring that day, and felt ‘so out of his depth’ during the match.
Footage of the boxer – who has been allowed to take part in the Olympics despite being rejected from the world boxing championships – brutally punching an opponent has emerged online, sparking fears for the safety of female competitors.
Concerns have been raised about transgender athletes being included in women’s boxing at the Olympics after a video showed Imane Khelif delivering a brutal punch to her competitor Brianda Tamara of Mexico.
The match took place in December 2022, with Mother Tamara saying afterwards that she felt ‘so out of me’.
‘His blow hurt me a lot,’ he opened, ‘I don’t think I’ve ever felt like that in 13 years as a boxer, or in sparring with someone’.
‘Thank God that day I got out of the ring safely.’
He has also since revealed pictures online showing pictures of serious bruises on his face after the match.
Khelif claimed online that he was not included in the match because of a ‘conspiracy’ to prevent Algeria from winning the gold medal.
Ms Payton’s experience led her to become an ambassador for the Independent Women’s Forum, which advocates for fairness in women’s sports.
A statement she gave to the North Carolina legislature last year was crucial to their decision to enact an act barring transgender athletes from women’s sports.
She said she did it for her sister and other female athletes who followed her, to help them avoid similar injuries.
The athlete who caused Ms McNabb’s injuries – which Ms McNabb has chosen not to name – still has not apologized to them, and only messaged her once to explain why they took the shot.
The player also previously wrote in a TikTok video: ‘I actually hit him because he pulled (off) the net when he had to block and he gave me an easy one.
‘And I obviously didn’t mean to punch him in the face. like, I’m actually not bad in the way you think I am, believe it or not.’
