Imagine going back to school in the fall after a summer away from your friends—excited to be back on the court or field, playing the sport you love with the teammates you’ve missed. But in a single moment, that joy and excitement are taken from you—not by fair play, but by a system that ignored your safety, left you vulnerable to unfair competition, and ultimately led to an injury that could have been prevented. This is my story. My athletic career was abruptly cut short in September 2022 because I was forced to compete against a male athlete on an opposing high school women’s volleyball team. I went into that game knowing there was a male player on the court, but I felt helpless. Neither I nor my teammates nor our school administration believed the match should continue under those circumstances. In volleyball, for context, the boys’ net is seven inches higher than the girls’ net—because the boys’ game is different from the girls’ game. Men have an inherent biological advantage over women when it comes to sports. Males jump approximately 25% higher than females, and accelerate about 20% faster than females. And yet, the game continued. What happened next was entirely predictable. During the match, the male player spiked a ball and struck me in the head, knocking me unconscious. A later medical evaluation revealed a concussion, vision problems, partial paralysis on the right side of my body, and other neurological impairments directly caused by the ball’s impact. The fact that I went through this is completely aggravating because the injury I suffered was 100% avoidable—if only my rights as a female athlete had been more important than a male’s feelings. Now, three years later, female high school volleyball players in California are being placed in the exact same position and are being forced to compete alongside and against a male athlete—the same male athlete who won two first-place medals at the California state championship earlier this year. It’s sad that this isn’t even stopping at the high school level—with female athletes at Santa Rosa Junior College being injured by a biological male teammate during practice—and even more sad that school officials and state leaders continue to let these things slide. Governor Gavin Newsom has even acknowledged that men competing in women’s sports is “deeply unfair”, yet he has taken no action to address the issue. Nevertheless, brave female athletes around the country are standing up for themselves and their teammates. Several teams and individual teammates of the male athlete have refused to play under these unfair circumstances. Some of them have also taken legal action, prioritizing the well-being of their student-athletes and choosing to take a stand rather than compromise their safety or fairness. McNabb’s Athletic Career Was Ended In 2022 It takes an incredible amount of courage to stand up for what you know is the right thing to do, and I truly admire their continued courage to forfeit games—even if it means not getting to play the sport they love. Still, no athlete should ever be forced to choose between her safety and the sport she loves. I am so proud of the progress being made to protect women’s sports at the federal level. However, there is clearly still work left to be done in states like California, and it can’t be left on the shoulders of these female athletes. Three years ago, my life changed forever, but I have managed to turn my pain into purpose. My love for sports and my belief in fairness for all female athletes drive me to keep speaking out—I refuse to stay silent. Until every girl can compete safely and fairly, I will keep speaking out, with the hope of protecting the next young woman from the injury and injustice I experienced. Payton McNabb is a sports ambassador for Independent Women and former three-sport high school athlete who turned tragedy into triumph after a traumatic brain injury ended her athletic future.