McNabb: Going to keep fighting for basic rights being taken away

(The Center Square) – Nearly two years later, the medical struggles continue for Payton McNabb. And the fight for keeping Title IX.

“This issue is a lot greater than me,” the former Hiawassee Dam High three-sport athlete said. “I thank the Lord He had a plan for me. I’m going to keep fighting for my sisters, and female athletes in general, their basic rights that are getting taken away from us.”

The rewrite of Title IX, pending a possible 11th-hour decision at the U.S. Supreme Court, takes effect on Thursday . The 37-word original signed into law in 1972 will yield to 1,561 pages from the U.S. Department of Education.

McNabb and U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx were North Carolinians in a press conference call Wednesday hosted by 12-time All-American Riley Gaines, former swimmer at the University of Kentucky and the Independent Women's Forum. Senators, tennis legend – and outspoken Democrat – Martina Navratilova, and lawyers for the IWF were also involved.

“The rule that has been proposed is a real slap in the face to women and girls,” Foxx said. “They have to compete on an uneven playing field.”

She said it goes to sport’s core principles on integrity and fairness. She lamented bills stuck on the desk of Democrats’ leader in the Senate, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, but praised the success of ongoing litigations.

“This rule is hurtful, it limits opportunities for women and girls, and it is totally unacceptable,” Foxx said.

For McNabb, the hurt remains literal.

On the first week of September 2022, her senior season after others were marred by COVID-19, she was injured from a spike during a volleyball match by a boy saying he was a girl. The video went viral.

McNabb was knocked out for about 30 seconds. When she came to, there was memory loss with the concussion.

“Partial paralysis,” McNabb said of her injuries. “Vision problems. Cognitive issues, having to get extra help in school. My body is still hurt, trying to heal. It was completely avoidable, so it’s really frustrating.”

While athletics are getting the lion’s share of Title IX discussion, the federal rule also applies to financial aid, academic programs, services, vocational education, recreation and housing – just to name a few – at local and state educational agencies and institutions that receive federal financial assistance.

Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina on Wednesday made it 26 states where the rule is blocked from implementation. That pushed to 10 the total number of different courts to rule against the rewrite.

Implementation is also blocked on campuses nationwide that have students in Young America’s Foundation, Female Athletes United and Moms for Liberty, which leaves only seven states without the murkiness. In North Carolina, 33 campuses are impacted by Judge John Broomes' ruling in Kansas – 19 colleges and universities, and 24 public, private or charter K-12 schools.

North Carolina lawmakers passed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act . The legislation overcame a gubernatorial veto to be enacted into law for the 2023-24 academic year.

The new law prohibits public middle and high schools, colleges and universities from allowing males to participate on female sports teams. Before going to the governor’s desk, amendments in the Senate had removed restrictions on women playing on men’s teams, as well as references to collegiate intramural sports.

Foxx, chairwoman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce in the U.S. House of Representatives , says the issue is front and center with the American public .

“We’re having trouble with legislative efforts, we’ve been thwarted there,” she said. “The committee has been vindicated by the courts. The cases are going to play out, and the appeals court, and potentially the Supreme Court.”