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The rise of pickleball has also resulted in a spike in injuries involving players who fell victim to a mishap on the court. That includes one man in Pennsylvania who ended up on crutches after things went awry and found himself facing criminal charges following an ill-fated attempt to get revenge.
Pickleball has a history stretching back to 1965, which is when the tennis-adjacent game was dreamed up by a few guys in Washington who harnessed a badminton court, paddleball paddles, and a wiffle ball while inventing a brand new sport.
It eventually became a staple of gym classes and retirement communities before experiencing a massive boom in popularity in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. That surge also generated some backlash to a game that has attracted many players who take it a bit too seriously as well as the upstart leagues and organizations that have somewhat over their skis in a quest to have it viewed as a “legitimate” sport.
Part of the reason pickleball has become so popular is the low-impact and non-contact nature of a pastime where the risk of injury is theoretically lower than more high-paced alternatives. However, its meteoric rise has coincided with a similarly drastic one concerning physical setbacks suffered while playing, including a spike in eye injuries and fractures stemming from falls while playing.
It’s also easy to tear something if you’re not careful, which is seemingly what one man in Pennsylvania managed to do before getting arrested for his misguided attempt to take out his frustration.
A man was charged with vandalizing multiple pickleball courts in Pennsylvania after being injured while playing
According to CBS News, police in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Township recently launched an investigation after multiple acts of vandalism resulted in pickleball nets on courts located at TLC Park and Mountain View Park being slashed.
They reviewed security footage that led them to the alleged culprit, a Tannersville resident named Saif Kaleem. Police say the 31-year-old was seen using crutches to get around when he visited both of those parks to cut the nets, and he reportedly informed them that pickleball caused the unspecified injury responsible for “ruining his summer” and driving him to lash out.
Kaleem was charged with criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, and trespassing for cutting four different pickleball nets as well as one on a tennis court net for good measure.