Trans comedian Stacy Cay under fire for mocking Payton McNabb’s brain injury caused by male player

Stacy Cay faced backlash after joking about Payton McNabb’s brain injury, which occurred when a male volleyball player spiked the ball at her
PUBLISHED DEC 6, 2025
Stacy Cay spoke about Payton McNabb, who suffered a concussion and lasting whiplash after a male player spiked the ball at her (@Outkick/X, @stacycay/Instagram)
Stacy Cay spoke about Payton McNabb, who suffered a concussion and lasting whiplash after a male player spiked the ball at her (@Outkick/X, @stacycay/Instagram)

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Transgender comedian Stacy Cay is facing criticism after a recent performance where she joked about former high school volleyball player Payton McNabb’s brain injury, caused by a male volleyball player. During her stand-up routine, Cay said, "She gets hit right in the head and then falls over like a toddler."

Cay described the incident as "pretty funny" and posted the same video on her Instagram, calling it “her best work.” The comment drew widespread backlash on social media. In response, Cay told Fox News, "Looks like the woke left is trying to cancel another comedian."

Stacy Cay criticized over volleyball injury joke

The joke referenced serious injuries McNabb suffered, including a concussion, brain bleed, and permanent whiplash. These occurred after she was spiked in the head by a biological male transgender athlete during a North Carolina high school match in 2022.

Cay added, "They don't ever want to show the clip of what happened because it's pretty funny actually." She continued, "She gets hit right in the head and then falls over like a toddler. And I'm like ‘Oh, she was really like this before.’ I don't know if there's a nice way to say this, but she should have been wearing a helmet. She shouldn't have been out there with the normal people."

Stacy Cay’s joke appeared to make light of injuries Payton McNabb suffered, including a concussion, a brain bleed and permanent whiplash (@stacycay/Instagram)
Stacy Cay’s joke appeared to make light of Payton McNabb’s injuries, including a concussion, brain bleed, and permanent whiplash (@stacycay/Instagram)

Payton McNabb responds to Stacy Cay's joke

Payton McNabb issued a statement to Fox News Digital, saying, "A grown man mocking a teenage girl’s traumatic brain injury isn’t comedy - it’s cruelty. My story isn’t a punchline." She added, "It’s a warning about what happens when adults ignore reality and girls pay the price. I suffer from something that changed my life forever. Your jokes won’t silence me; they only prove why this fight matters."

The video of Cay’s joke quickly spread online, drawing immediate criticism from Save Women’s Sports activists, including Riley Gaines and XX-XY Athletics founder Jennifer Sey.

Riley Gaines tweeted, "Mind you he's talking about a high school girl who was partially paralyzed after a volleyball game after getting a volleyball to the face by a boy... and they insist they're the 'kind' ones." 



Jennifer Sey added, "Payton was 17 when she was hit in the face with a volleyball by a man and suffered a brain bleed. This man with his man legs and his man stance in his ugly dress is mocking a teenager who suffered a traumatic brain injury. It doesn't get any lower than this. Payton is a force of nature. This guy is just a loser with a fetish he wears in public."



"If this was all reversed, he wouldn’t have a ‘comedy’ act. His drag show would go on," shared another user. 



"How could anyone find this horrible event funny? Absolutely disgusting for this 'comedian' and his audience," commented another user. 



Another user added, "The audience laughing is more disturbing. They actually think it’s funny to make fun of a high school seriously injured by a male?"



This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online

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