Payton McNabb Was Made for Such a Time as This

By Caroline Downey

Murphy, North Carolina is a blue-collar mountain town where life moves a little slower and everybody knows everybody, as the Tim McGraw song goes. But instead of “Meanwhile Back at Mama’s,” for Payton McNabb and her family, it might be called “Meanwhile Back at Granddaddy’s.”

Payton is a North Carolina native and an Independent Women’s Forum ambassador. Her grandfather, a veteran and musician who was honored in the bluegrass hall of fame for the banjo, is the anchor and beloved patriarch of her family, and “her favorite person in the world.” He taught her the importance of hard work and freedom, and many other lessons, such as the infallibility of Ford Motor Company and how to hunt pesky armadillos. Because of his example, Payton’s tight-knit folk always kept their hearts centered on God, country, and music.

Her homegrown foundation proved invaluable in 2023, when Payton endured a tragic accident that turned her life upside down and threw her community into the culture wars. As Payton’s story made national news, becoming a major catalyst for government action that would restore rights to women and girls, her family and faith continued to be her rock.

Since she was five years old, Payton had been a three-sport athlete. Her high school’s graduating class was only 30 kids, so it was not uncommon for the same girls to play all the same sports to ensure there were enough players to compete. Payton happily offered her talents to the women’s basketball, softball, and volleyball teams, where she served as co-captain her junior year.

But the excitement of the season was soon soured by the specter of gender ideology: a transgender-identifying man on the high school women’s volleyball circuit. He had been rumored on the scene for years but became a serious problem once he hit puberty. It was little discussed in the area so as not to ruffle any feathers.

“We had to practice to prepare for just him,” Payton told The Conservateur. “We just based everything around him because he was the only reason they were winning.”

But nothing could have prepared her for what came next.

During a volleyball match, the male athlete in question who was on the opposing team powerfully spiked the ball, hitting Payton in the head and knocking her out unconscious for more than 30 seconds. The harrowing event is further detailed in IW Features’ documentary Kill Shot featuring Payton and her family. The video footage, provided by IW Features, is spine-chilling.

There was a scream from the stands, then a deafening silence, as attendees looked on in dismay. When Payton awoke, she was surrounded by teammates, while the other team huddled and giggled on the other side of the court.

“Once the trainer asked me what just happened, I said, ‘yeah the boy on y’all’s team just knocked me out,’” Payton said. “Of course no one was prepared for that comment because we weren’t allowed to talk about it.”

After conducting a basic test on Payton, the trainer from the other team cleared her to keep playing, but her coach ruled against it. On the phone, Payton’s parents were devastated, as it was the only game they had missed all season. Her mother was inconsolable and her father was irate.

Per North Carolina’s concussion protocol, Payton stayed in the dark with glasses on and monitored the symptoms for a few days.

“It just continued to get so much worse,” she said.

She developed memory problems, constant head pain, impaired vision, partial paralysis on the right side of her body, and wobbly balance that caused frequent falls. She wore sunglasses at all times and slept all day.

“I had to go to the chiropractor weekly because they told me I had permanent whiplash,” she said.

Payton never played volleyball again.

“That was really hard because I’d always been a three sport athlete,” she said. “Ever since I could walk I was in a sport. That was literally my whole life.”

She persisted, however, practicing basketball and softball on the side. The coaches kindly briefed the team ahead of each meet on Payton’s condition. Though her athletic performance was severely hindered, Payton felt the practicing was good physical therapy that also helped with her mental health, which had suffered since the incident. Internet trolls tried to discredit Payton’s story because she continued to exercise, missing that the injury cost her what would have been a college career in sports.

Though inconceivable to Payton at the time, that life-altering episode would culminate in President Trump recognizing her and her courage in his joint address to Congress in early March.

During that speech, Payton, a small-town girl who loves country music concerts, crafting, and lake days, was highlighted as a heroine in one of the heaviest issues of the last couple decades. Her testimony uplifted women and girls across the country who’ve faced male intruders in their spaces, as well as the youngest female generation growing up in this confusing world.

“I was so overwhelmed with gratitude and emotion,” she said. “I was just trying to soak it all in. Witnessing history being made. I still can’t believe it. I couldn't be more thankful for it. And I’ll never forget it.”

Payton received plenty of hateful messages once she bravely became a spokeswoman for the protection of women’s sports, or as Trump calls it, “common sense.” But she also feels blessed to have made lifelong friends and allies, brought together by a shared commitment to ending a toxic ideology.

“However unfortunate it is, I feel like, this was meant to happen, we were all meant to be there,” she said.

Indeed, as scripture says, Payton was made for such a time as this.

Caroline Downey is the editor in chief of The Conservateur and a staff writer at National Review. She can be found on Twitter @carolinedowney_.

Payton McNabb Was Made for Such a Time as This

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