The College Fix

Attorney says investigator was biased, university leaders encouraged complaint 

Western Carolina University student Payton McNabb emerged victorious this month after facing a university civil rights investigation for voicing her discomfort over a trans-identifying male using a women’s restroom on campus.

The public, North Carolina university determined that McNabb had not harassed the man, but had been polite when questioning why he was using the women’s restroom, the Independent Women’s Forum reported.

McNabb’s attorney, Ellis Boyle, told The College Fix that a key challenge his team faced was the investigator’s lack of neutrality, as they appeared to be “sympathetic to the cause of the day.”

“It is simply a function of the system that anyone who would hold themselves out as a vendor in this space is almost certainly a self-selected advocate for the ‘progressive’ or agenda-driven way of thinking about the topic,” Boyle said.

An investigation “conducted by a purported neutral party” who “is actually invested on the other side of the issue makes it difficult to get a fair shake,” he said.

In addition, Boyle said university leaders contacted the trans-identifying man and encouraged him to file a complaint after McNabb posted a video of the incident on X.

The College Fix contacted WCU’s Title IX Office and media relations team via email and voicemail in the last week regarding the process of the investigation.

A WCU spokesperson told The Fix she was unable to “provide information … at this time” as “it’s currently spring break at WCU, and the staff who could assist [her] are not available on campus this week.”

Moving forward, Boyle said he is hopeful this case will “set the stage for individual women to stand up for themselves and make their voices heard when they are forced into uncomfortable situations.”

McNabb “was completely surprised by the situation, and reacted calmly (as the video proves) to ask a few common sense questions and protect herself when she felt threatened,” Boyle said.

MORE: Ohio university installs ‘biological’ sex bathroom signs

Boyle also said that “at a minimum, if a woman like Payton feels uncomfortable when she is confronted by a man in the women’s bathroom, she should be allowed to have a calm discussion and question the situation. Certainly, in the future, she should not face persecution by the college in the first instance.”

Further, he said he hopes the U.S. Supreme Court will lend clarity to similar “legal battles that are being fought through the various federal court appellate circuits. Until the Supreme Court acts it is a fraught area that can put a college in a difficult position.”

“If men are allowed to use women’s bathrooms without the consent or even knowledge of unsuspecting women victims, this is a situation that will repeat itself all over the country,” he said.

Offering a solution, IWF Legal Advisor Beth Parlato told The Fix colleges should issue a clear statement that defines sex-based words and acknowledges that women are biologically distinct from men. IWF is a conservative non-profit that fights for women’s opportunities.

“Colleges must adhere to the binding executive order that states ‘sex’ is a matter of objective biology and refers to an individual being either ‘male’ or ‘female’ and that ‘sex’ is not a synonym for and does not include ‘gender identity,'” she said.

Looking ahead to the case’s broader impact, Parlato told The Fix, “McNabb’s struggles and subsequent victory sets a precedent for other universities.”

“Men do not belong in women-only spaces, and universities have a legal obligation to protect all females on their campuses from men invading women’s private, intimate spaces,” Parlato said.

McNabb’s story and advocacy began long before the bathroom incident at her university. As a high school athlete, McNabb sustained a traumatic brain injury from a volleyball spike by a biological male playing on an opposing girls’ team, The College Fix previously reported.

Now, McNabb is an ambassador for the Independent Women’s Forum and speaks alongside Riley Gaines about the importance of keeping men out of women’s spaces. She also recently revealed how her college sorority kicked her out for opposing a male student in the women’s bathroom.

IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: Payton McNabb waves during President Trump’s February 2025 address to Congress; 11 Alive/YouTube

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