Pickleball is officially no longer a low-impact sport.
In St. Augustine, Florida, a post-game squabble turned into a full-on paddle attack. Cops say a nurse, Michele Bannister, didn’t love how a guy was talking to her son after a doubles match… so she jumped in and started swinging. Not metaphorically. Literally. Paddle to the head. Multiple times.
The guy ended up cut up and bleeding, which is not typically how pickleball wraps up, unless you’re playing in some kind of gladiator league I haven’t heard about.
When police showed up, Bannister allegedly gave them a fake name and said she was protecting her son. Officers, however, said there wasn’t exactly a life-or-death showdown happening… more like a heated rec league disagreement that escalated way past “good game.”
She’s now facing a felony charge for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon… which, yes, in this case, is a pickleball paddle.
She’s out on bond and due in court July 28th, which could bring serious consequences. No word on if they would include her getting paddled.