What is it about pickleball that brings out bad behavior? Today in Ohio podcast hosts batted around that question Friday after Rocky River canceled its pickleball program at the local recreation center through the end of 2024.
And the misbehavior was not by teenagers or children. It was the adults.
The Rocky River Recreation Center made the surprising announcement because adult participants became too disruptive to manage. Recreation Director Bob Hollab cited arguments over rules and points as the primary reason, explaining that the confrontations were occurring during what he described as “multi-generational drop-in games.”
“I wish we knew more. We really don’t know why they did it,” said Lisa Garvin on the episode.
The decision speaks to the surprising intensity that has emerged around pickleball, a sport that has seen explosive growth in recent years. According to figures discussed on the podcast, approximately 19 million adults played pickleball in the United States last year—a staggering 311% increase from two years earlier.
Many community members have expressed their frustration on social media, questioning why the entire program was suspended. On the recreation center’s Instagram page, players asked, “Why cancel the whole program for just a few bad actors?”
The situation has prompted discussions about the example being set for younger community members who also use the recreation facility.
“Think about the imagery for children,” said Chris Quinn. “Young children go to the rec center, too, and you have adults who are misbehaving so badly that the city just says, forget it. Get out. We’re not going to do it for a couple of months. This is terrible.”
What makes the situation particularly ironic is that many assumed the problems must have been caused by younger players. “When we first heard about this, we thought for sure it was, like, rowdy teens, you know? And then we find out it’s adults,” said Leila Atassi.
The recreation center plans to use the pause to develop clearer guidelines for communicating game rules to participants.
While the specific incidents that triggered the shutdown haven’t been detailed, Lisa Garvin shared stories from her brother, a longtime pickleball player, about confrontations at other facilities: “My brother plays in Solon. He’s been a pickleballer for a decade now, and he’s told me scary stories about what went on down there when people disagreed.”
The age diversity among players may be a contributing factor to the tensions. “It’s interesting that he said multi generational, because pickleball really started out as for senior citizens, and now you’re getting a lot of young people into the game. And I wonder if there’s a generational clash there, too,” Garvin suggested.
Listen to full “Today in Ohio” episodes where Chris Quinn hosts our daily half-hour news podcast, with Editorial Board member Lisa Garvin, Impact Editor Leila Atassi and Content Director Laura Johnston.
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