‘She didn’t wait until it was easy’: Victim of brutal injury from male athlete praises Sophie Cunningham

A female athlete who knows firsthand what it’s like to compete against a male is confused by the WNBA’s lack of a female-only policy.

To date, the WNBA has consistently punted on the idea of banning males from its league despite the topic being a focal point in press conferences, interviews, and even during games.

‘The WNBA [is] proving every day how unserious the league is.’

Coaches and ownership have been clear: The WNBA is a progressive and inclusive league, even if women have a problem with it.

Payton McNabb is one of those women.

The North Carolina native gained notoriety during her senior year of high school as a volleyball player when she was on the receiving end of a male athlete’s brutal spike that caused ongoing concussion symptoms and neck injury.

“It was very clear that we were not up against another high school girl,” McNabb told Blaze News.

McNabb has subsequently become a vocal opponent of male inclusion in women’s sports, even speaking before the House Oversight Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency in May 2025.

Nearly four years after her high school injury, McNabb remains flabbergasted as to how a league made for women is still unable to admit obvious differences between the sexes.

“Something so simple as that has turned into this insane explosion of just the WNBA proving every day how unserious the league is,” McNabb declared. “It’s just been crazy to watch.”

At the same time, McNabb praised Indiana Fever player Sophie Cunningham, the first player in the league to outright state that men should not be allowed to play with women and that boys should not share locker rooms with girls.

“I think the way she’s handled it has been so admirable,” McNabb, who also played basketball, explained. “I really appreciate her not backing down from it, and doubling down on it, and standing up for women and girls in the next generation.”

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McNabb accused other WNBA players and coaches of “pulling up the ladder” and putting young girls in a position where there may be no women’s basketball league for them to aspire to.

“I can’t think of any other explanation as to why you would want men to infiltrate the very league you made to get away from men. It makes no sense,” she said. “You can’t complain on one hand that you want more media attention and more opportunities and just as much as the men, and then the next argument be that you would open-arms accept them on your team and, you know, encourage that to happen.”

Now a college student, McNabb touched on the WNBA personnel who have performed stunts in response to Cunningham’s “completely normal” comments.

Specifically referring to Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve wearing a “Trans Kids Belong” shirt and Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton accosting two young female fans, McNabb said she believes there is some sort of ongoing effort to get “media relevancy.”

“There’s no other reason why anyone would be talking about the WNBA,” she stressed.

McNabb asserted that the league’s constant involvement in these controversies distracts from the actual sport: “It’s just taking away from basketball. I mean, no one’s even talking about basketball.”

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Now in her 20s, McNabb recognizes how difficult it must have been for Cunningham to risk her rise to stardom by speaking out.

“She didn’t wait until it was easy,” McNabb said of Cunningham. “She really said it when her career was taking off and, you know, when she has so many eyes on her.”

“I know it means a lot to me, but I just know how much it means to a bunch of young girls, young athletes across the country who look up to her so much,” she added.

McNabb revealed that the whole conversation around protecting women’s sports has resulted in her being called a “TERF, bigoted, transphobic loser,” when, in her opinion, all women are asking for is “the bare minimum.”

A women-only locker room and an even playing field don’t seem like too much to ask, the college student said, adding that even her most fervent detractors are putting forth “a losing argument.”

“It’s just real life, and it’s okay to think that. And the people that disagree with you, I think they, deep down, they’ve got to know.”

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