LGBT

Payton McNabb, Injured Volleyball Player, Wins Title IX Victory

Payton McNabb, who was severely injured in a high school girls volleyball game by a male student, won a Title IX victory after encountering a transgender-identified male in a women’s restroom at Western Carolina University.

She posted a video of the man leaving the women’s room on X, which led to the Title IX complaint.

The incident also led to McNabb’s expulsion from the Delta Zeta Sorority she had joined at WCU. The sorority said she violated its “anti-bullying policy” with “conduct which is prejudicial to the Sorority, tending to bring it into disrepute.”

The Daily Citizen connected with McNabb, who told us about the importance of this recent victory for girls and women,

This Title IX case is yet another piece of my story that proves gender ideology will not prevail. The truth wins. Most importantly, this civil rights investigation victory showcases that women do not need to sit there and take it – they do not need to accept men in their spaces, sports or intimate and private spaces.

She added, “I hope it gives other collegiate women the courage to stand up for themselves.”

Independent Women’s Features, a project of Independent Women’s Forum, explained how the kerfuffle with the man in the ladies’ room unfolded.

“McNabb confronted the male for making her feel uncomfortable in a vulnerable and private space, and subsequently expressed her First Amendment rights by posting a video of the ‘unreal’ encounter on X.”

IWF said that seeing the man leaving a private women’s space left McNabb feeling “bewildered and alarmed,” adding,

“As she tried to sort through emotions in her head in the heat of the moment, McNabb said she reflected on how young girls come in and out of that bathroom regularly during field trips to WCU’s public campus, and said she decided to question the male because she had no way of knowing his intentions.”

She asked the man, “Why are you in the girls’ bathroom?”

He responded, “Because I’m a trans girl.”

McNabb responded, “But you’re not a girl. … I pay a lot of money to be safe in the bathroom.”

The transgender-identifying man then filed a Title IX complaint with the university.

IWF writes, “McNabb won the campus Title IX case – a victory that is not only a personal triumph for McNabb, but also one with far-reaching implications in the ongoing legal battle over sex-based rights and the future of Title IX. “

McNabb first made headlines in September 2022, after receiving a severe head and neck injury when a male player spiked a ball so hard it knocked Payton out. She was 17 years old, a junior in high school. The injury left her concussed with a traumatic brain injury, partial paralysis and vision problems.

She still struggles with medical issues caused by the injury, as posted on X,

Being knocked out by a male player transformed McNabb into an activist. She’s an ambassador with Independent Women’s Forum, “advocating to protect girls’ and women’s sports while pursuing her bachelor’s degree.” 

First lady Melania Trump invited McNabb to be a special guest at President Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress on March 6, 2025, praising her because she “has made it her mission to put an end to this brutal unfairness.”

McNabb told us, “It was an incredible honor to attend President Trump’s Joint Session Address to Congress as one of the President and First Lady’s special guests. I was so excited to be there, to sit next to the Second Lady, and it’s a night I will never forget.”

She also excoriated those who blocked a federal bill to protect women’s sports, and told us she has been targeted by activists after attending the speech,

I have received significant pushback since I attended the address. My story is a testament to the real physical threat men in women’s sports pose, which is why it is no surprise that radical activists are now trying to discredit my story.

Brave women like McNabb, who stand for truth about biological reality and for fairness for girls and women, deserve our prayers and support. We’re asking God to heal her and to protect her as she fights to save women’s sports and battles for women’s safety and privacy in sex-segregated spaces.

Related Articles and Resources:

International Women’s Features: Payton McNabb Prevails in Title IX Case As Legal Fights Over Sex Definitions Heat Up

‘Everyday Americans’ Honored at Address to Congress

Gaines, Women’s Rights Groups Support Women Appealing Case of Man Joining Sorority  

Male and Female Biology Matters

Trump Signs Executive Order Protecting Women’s Sports and Spaces

Senate Democrats Block Bill to Save Women’s Sports

Sorority Members Old and New, Feminists, Riley Gaines Band Together to Protect Women’s Spaces

What’s Your School District’s ‘Transgender’ Policy?

Yet Another Man Steals Women’s Trophies

Image credit: Payton McNabb / Independent Women’s Forum

Representative Speaks Truth, Congressional Record Edits Her, Then Retracts

While chairing the congressional House floor on last month, Representative Mary Miller officially referred to Representative Sarah McBride as “Mr. McBride” and “the gentleman from Delaware.”

Why would Rep. Miller make such a blatant mistake?

Well, because it wasn’t a mistake.

Rep. Miller was merely speaking truth and doing so boldly. The kind of confident honesty that more people need to speak.

Rep. McBride is a man. But he is celebrated by some as the “first openly transgender” member of Congress.

Tim McBride announced in his college newspaper on Tuesday, May 1, 2012, “Starting on Saturday, I will present as my true self” and asked everyone to start using “female pronouns (she/her) and [his] chosen name, Sarah.” It was then, as he explained, that he “re-imagined” himself “as a girl.”

This is not how male and female work.

Rep. Miller knew this when she correctly referred to McBride as a man on the House floor, demonstrating bravely that she simply refuses to live by lies or illusion.

It is time everyone stops pretending gender redefinition is normal. We must resist it at every turn, refusing to act as if speaking falsehoods is kind and compassionate. It is not. We must be like Rep. Miller and simply refuse to cooperate in any part of this lie.

Congressional Record “Corrects” Miller, Then Retracts

Rep. Miller took to X to complain that the Congressional Record, the formal recorder of what is officially spoken in Congress, changed her correct words to the false “gentlewoman” and “Ms.”

Miller explained, “This is absolutely appalling and a blatant disregard for the truth I have spoken. The Congressional Record is an official publication and should accurately reflect my words. I refuse to participate in this lie. Tim “Sarah” McBride is a MAN!”

Thankfully the Congressional Record corrected the error.

The Daily Citizen strongly salutes Rep. Miller’s courageous clarity. We will continue to hold up and celebrate examples of honorable citizens and community leaders who demonstrate clear thinking, common sense and moral courage in the face of reality-denying gender ideology.

Additional Articles and Resources

How to Respond to “Trans” and Gender Ideology? Simple: Live Not by Lies

‘Transgender Means Many Different Things’ — And Nothing

Transgenderism and Minors: What Does the Research Really Show?

Parents Fight Back Against California School District’s Secret LGBT Clubs

What Does it Mean to Be Trans, Anyway?

The Shifting Ground of ‘Gender-Affirming Care’

Do Not Fall for the ‘Affirm Them or They Will Die’ Lie

How the “Trans” and Gender Redefinition Issue Attacks the Family

Image from Getty.

It’s Weak Men Who Try to Compete Against Strong Women

If it’s still inconceivable that 45 senators voted against a bill protecting girls and women from getting pummeled by boys and men on the field, court, track or in the pool, consider yourself in a good place.

It brings to mind an old story about legendary FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. At one point in his career, he was encouraged to better understand the mind of a criminal. As the logic went, if one gets inside the head of a delinquent, they’ll more likely spot both the offense and offender. Only the pugnacious chief law enforcer of the famed bureau would have nothing of it. 

“When I begin to understand the mind of a criminal, that’s when you can begin to worry about me,” he said.

Whether driven by raw partisanship, intense hatred of the president, or a blinded and distorted sense of reality, support for allowing men to compete against women is tantamount to voting for inevitable abuse.

Fortunately, there is some evidence that some longtime support for the “trans” movement is flailing a bit.

California Governor Gavin Newsom broke this week with his liberal friends when he told popular podcaster Charlie Kirk, who strongly opposes men competing against women, “I think it’s an issue of fairness, I completely agree with you on that. It is an issue of fairness. It’s deeply unfair.”

Both Newsom and Kirk – along with nearly 80% of Americans – are right. But it’s not only unfair. It’s wicked, deranged, manipulative – and evidence of male bullies looking to cheat, steal and claim credit for trophies and titles that rightfully belong to female athletes.

Scan the stories of men pretending to be women athletes and you’ll find a familiar thread and theme – weak men looking for glory they’d never find if they were competing against other men. In most instances, a man who crushes female competition would be middle of the pack (or lower) if competing against fellow male athletes.

At the risk of stating the obvious, this is because men, on average, are physically stronger than women. From lung function and cardiovascular fitness to jumping, lifting and lean body mass, males have distinct competitive advantages over women. 

Only groups like the ACLU won’t admit it and instead trade in all types of distortions and doublespeak to try and suggest otherwise.

In a piece distributed back in 2020 attempting to “debunk” supposed myths about trans athletes, the group made the following statements:

“Including trans athletes will benefit everyone.” They go on to claim that prohibiting men from competing against women “invites gender policing that could subject any woman to invasive tests or accusations of being ‘too masculine’ or ‘too good’ at their sport to be a ‘real’ woman.”

Not surprisingly, they never quote any female athletes.

The ACLU goes on to claim men don’t have any advantage against women and that men claiming to be women are actually women. They seem to embrace the belief that if you repeat a lie long enough it will somehow eventually come true.

Discerning readers and culture watchers know there is no such thing as a “transwoman” or a “transman.” There are only two genders, male and female (Genesis 1:27).

We pray that despite the legislative setback earlier this week, the tide of popular opinion, aided by President Trump’s executive action, will help to re-normalize and give momentum to a common sense revolution concerning the distinctives between male and female athletes.  

Image from Getty.

‘Everyday Americans’ Honored at Address to Congress

First lady Melania Trump invited “everyday Americans as special guests” to President Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday.

Several guests had ties to family issues that are important to Focus on the Family, such as God’s design of humans as male and female; saving girls sports, serving children in the foster care system; and protecting parents’ rights to direct the educational upbringing of their children.

Attendees included family members of victims of violence, a mom whose parental rights were assailed by her daughter’s school, a young lady who had been a foster child, and a steelworker who, along with his wife, provided “a loving home to dozens of foster children.”

In addition, a few “surprise guests” attended the speech, including Jason Hartley, a young man was just accepted into the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and 13-year-old D.J. Daniel, who was diagnosed with brain cancer at age seven. D.J. was made an honorary law enforcement officer of several police departments; Secret Service Director Sean Curran made him an agent of the U.S. Secret Service during the speech.

Here are three of the “everyday Americans” honored by the president and first lady involved in issues we care about.  

Payton McNabb – Athlete’s story demonstrates why we should respect the distinctions between male and female.  

The Independent Women’s Forum, where Payton serves as an ambassador, described how McNabb was injured by a transgender-identified male in a volleyball game her senior year of high school:

On September 1, 2022, during a volleyball game against a rival North Carolina high school, 17-year-old Payton McNabb received a devastating head and neck injury as the result of a spike by a male athlete who identified as transgender. …

The blow left her unconscious, and “the ball’s impact caused neurological impairments including a concussion, vision problems, and partial paralysis to the right side of her body.”

In a White House video posted on X, McNabb said she still deals with these health issues today.

The president told Payton that because of an executive order protecting girls and women’s sports, “From now on, schools will kick the men off the girls team or they will lose all federal funding.

Jeff Denard – Hardworking father and his wife generously give time and love to children in foster care.

Melania Trump described Denard, saying, “Jeff has spent nearly three decades working at a steel plant owned by Nucor Steel. His good paying, middle class job at the steel plant has allowed Jeff to serve as volunteer firefighter, provide a loving home to dozens of foster children, and organize his fellow steelworkers to respond to natural disasters, including Hurricane Helene.”

In a post on X, Denard said he and his wife, Nicole, have been married for 25 years and have seven children. He explained their work in foster care, saying,

“My wife and I are also ranch managers of the Circle Ranch, out in Danvill, Alabama. We have about 38 children on-site. We have been fostering now for about three years and have had about 41 children through our homes.”

“We are so blessed. God’s been so good to us that we’re able to do this.”

The Circle Ranch defines its purpose:

Our mission is to provide a stable, supportive, and Christ-centered environment for these children and their foster families, as well as to equip and empower them for a successful future. We believe that every child deserves a chance to grow up in a family environment that reflects the love of God.

The ranch also serves as “a hub for other foster, adoptive, or kinship families in North Alabama,” adding, “Our aim is to create a network of support and resources for all the families who are involved in this noble and challenging calling.”

January Littlejohn – Mom’s story exposes threats to parental rights in education.

Almost five years ago, January and Jeffrey Littlejohn filed a lawsuit against the Leon County School Board for violating their parental rights by secretly affirming their daughter, who was only 13 years old at the time, in her gender confusion, as the Daily Citizen reported.

Three staff members met with the girl and developed a “Transgender/Non-Conforming Student Support Plan.” The staff asked the girl how she wanted to be identified, what pronouns to use when speaking about her, whether she wanted to use the girls or boys bathroom, and whether she felt more comfortable rooming with boys or girls on overnight trips – all without her parents’ knowledge or consent.

In a video on X describing what happened to their daughter, Littlejohn explained the damage inflicted on their daughter, saying, “We learned that the school had socially transitioned our daughter, where they asked her questions that would have absolutely impacted her safety and had harmful impacts on her psychological and physical well-being.”

She said that the school’s tactics were designed “to effectively deceive parents like us that these social transition plans ever happen.”

The first lady’s announcement about Littlejohn’s invitation described the harms from hiding information from parents, “The school drove a wedge between January’s daughter and her parents, and deceived January about their covert plan to transition her daughter.”

Related Articles and Resources

‘Equipping Parents For Back-To-School’ – Updated Resource Empowers Parents

Florida Parents Sue School for Helping Teen ‘Transition’ – Without Their Knowledge or Consent

Male and Female Biology Matters

Trump Signs Executive Order Protecting Women’s Sports and Spaces

What’s Your School District’s ‘Transgender’ Policy?

Yet Another Man Steals Women’s Trophies

Foundational Values

Resources: Foster Care and Adoption

Wait No More

The Most Important Truth in Trump’s Joint Speech to Congress Last Night

In his joint address to Congress last night, President Trump said many important things that have massive implications. The most consequential thing for our age is when he declared for America, “Our message to every child in America is that you are perfect exactly the way God made you.”

That was undergirded by this foundational human truth, “I signed an order making it the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male and female.”

To this, he added, America will be “forever ending the lie that any child is trapped in the wrong body.” He noted, “This is a big lie.”

He is correct. You can see this short segment of his speech here:

These statements by President Trump were his most important utterances all evening because they are strong, truthful corrections to demonic lies that have infiltrated so much of our culture and too many of our children today. And they came forcefully and unapologetically from the leader of the free world. That is no small thing.

This is more than a vibe shift. It is a major shift toward the essential truth of the goodness of God, what it means to be human and why the family matters in the world today.


President Trump told the world last night that God’s image in each one of us as male and female is a treasured gift. It is something to be valued and protected in each child. The culture has been telling our children that God plays tricks on them by putting them in the wrong body. Too many youth now believe their feelings are more true than God’s very good design.

President Trump also said it is now the policy of the United States that there are only two sexes, male and female. This is not just some “own-the-libs” angle on an ideological, culture war skirmish. It corrects a very damaging anti-scientific and godless view of what it means to be human. We cannot define humanity nor the human person if we do not know what male and female are.

Likewise, we cannot speak sensibly about the family if we cannot speak truthfully about male and female. This fact is of utmost importance to us here at Focus on the Family because we are a family advocacy organization founded on and defended by a Christian worldview.

Why does this matter?

One of the first facts of creation is that male and female are a part of the very image and likeness of God in creation.

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).

No other part of God’s vast creation holds this divine distinction. No Christian can miss this truth: Attacks on the nature of male and female are nothing less than attacks on the very image and likeness of God. Every Christian must therefore be passionate about defending the image and likeness of God. They must be passionate about defending the truth and beauty of male and female.

It is very clear. Christians have no real choice but to be fierce defenders of what it means to be woman and man, girl and boy, male and female.

It is the truth, beauty and wonder of male and female that creates each family. Reader, you exist, regardless of your belief system, culture, or worldview, because you are the fruit of a male and female union, hopefully from a married mother and father. This is the first universal truth about humanity that all cultures celebrate. It is what we honor at every birthday celebration.

The confusion this pernicious gender ideology has foisted upon the world challenges each of these beautiful truths. Donald Trump is the first major world leader to surgically attack so many of these deceptively destructive lies, and to do so forcefully.

Feel however you might about his other policies and practices; he is to be praised for his bold, truthful leadership.

Additional Resources

Why Focus on the Family Cares About the Gender Issue?

Yes, Sexuality and Gender Are Undeniable Gospel Issues

New Gallup Poll Shows the Incoherence of ‘LGBTQ+’ Fiction

Here’s What Happens When Good People Don’t Connect Gay and Trans Ideology

What Does it Mean to Be Trans, Anyway?

Why Christians Can’t Avoid the “Trans” and Gender Redefinition Issue

How the “Trans” and Gender Redefinition Issue Attacks the Family

Why the ‘LGBT Person’ and ‘LGBT Community’ Don’t Really Exist

How to Respond to “Trans” and Gender Ideology? Simple: Live Not by Lies

How the Binary in ‘LGBTQ+’ Reveals Its Utter Incoherence

Image from Getty.