WASHINGTON, D.C. — Tonight, Independent Women Ambassador Payton McNabb will join President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump as a special guest for the Joint Session Presidential Address to Congress. McNabb turned tragedy into triumph after suffering a devastating injury, caused by a trans-identifying male athlete on an opposing women’s sports team.
“Thank you, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for inviting me to be a guest at the State of the Union Address. I was also recently in Washington when I got to stand behind President Trump signing an executive order to keep men out of women’s sports,” said Payton McNabb. “It’s such an honor, as a former female athlete, to be here and to watch President Trump stand up so strongly for women’s and girls’ rights to equal opportunity, privacy, and safety. We are worth fighting for. And the president, who knows what a ‘woman’ is, won’t let the injustice against women go on.”
In September 2022, McNabb, a three-sport athlete and then high school senior, was permanently injured when a male volleyball player on the opposing women’s team spiked a ball at her head. The hit left McNabb laying unconscious and in a fencing position on the court. The injury caused permanent paralysis and other cognitive issues that doctors say may never resolve.
Shortly after the incident, McNabb began using her voice to call for change, joining Independent Women as an ambassador to speak out alongside Riley Gaines and other female athletes. Since then, McNabb has become a prominent advocate in the fight for women’s sports, including her recent visits to the nation’s capital to join President Trump for the signing of his Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports Executive Order and to speak at a women’s sports roundtable led by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
McNabb’s story continues to drive support for women’s sports, standing as a testament to the tragic consequences of denying women and girls the right to single-sex athletics. Independent Women Features, the grassroots storytelling and original journalism project of Independent Women, recently highlighted McNabb’s story in a documentary — “Kill Shot: How Payton McNabb Turned Tragedy Into Triumph” — featuring original raw footage of the spike to McNabb’s head and first-time interviews with her parents and sister Avery, who will also be joining McNabb at this Joint Session Presidential Address to Congress.
Watch Payton’s Story here.
McNabb’s story served as a touchpoint throughout the 2024 election cycle, as President Trump referenced McNabb’s story multiple times on the campaign trail to showcase the gravity of what female athletes are facing and underscore his commitment to Stand With Women.
As an ambassador for Independent Women, McNabb continues to expose the harms of gender ideology and the critical need for equal athletic opportunity. McNabb has been instrumental in providing testimony and support as Independent Women has advanced legislation in states both to define sex-based words and codify protections for women’s sports. She toured the country as a part of the Our Bodies Our Sports “Take Back Title IX Summer Bus Tour”, serving as an Independent Women ambassador and speaking in front of thousands of Americans, including aspiring, young female athletes.
Learn more about Independent Women Features’ storytelling campaign to fight for fairness in women’s sports, which has amplified the stories of other female athletes who have felt compelled to lend their voice to the fight to save women’s sports and end the discrimination of women here.
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