Prison pickleball turns violent for convicted killer Scott Peterson

The Kitchen Team

Your pickleball fanatics

Last Edited

Mar 11 2025

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Pickleball is supposed to be a game that builds community, even inside a maximum-security prison. But for convicted murderer Scott Peterson, a match at Mule Creek State Prison turned violent.

TMZ reports that Peterson, 51, was attacked by a fellow inmate on March 9 while playing pickleball. The fight allegedly started when Peterson hit the ball directly at his opponent, triggering a physical altercation. Prison officials confirmed he sustained minor injuries but didn’t require hospitalization.

If there’s irony in this story, it’s that pickleball has actually become a tool for rehabilitation in prisons across the country.

Facilities like San Quentin State Prison have introduced the sport as a way to foster teamwork, break down racial and gang-related divides, and provide inmates with a structured, non-violent outlet.

A PBS NewsHour segment even highlighted how pickleball is being used in 40 prisons across 11 states as part of larger rehabilitation efforts.

"In my whole incarceration, I avoided sports because they were a potential point of conflict," one inmate shared in a recent YouTube report on California prison pickleball. "But this game is different."

And yet, Peterson’s altercation shows that even in a game designed to bring people together, personal dynamics and old tensions don’t just disappear.

In a high-stakes environment like prison, where respect is currency and perceived slights escalate quickly, even a sport built on dinks and drops can turn into something else entirely.

For more on the rise of pickleball in the U.S. prison system, check out our deep dive into the sport’s role in correctional facilities here.

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