Joe Yates
An Olympian's once-prestigious life has transformed into a 'living nightmare' after she made an instantly regrettable mistake.
Back in March former pro athlete Meaggan Pettipiece walked into a Walmart, unaware that her actions would completely change the course of her life.
The 48-year-old played softball in the Sydney 2000 Olympics for the Canadian National team, and while they didn't finish on the podium, she did feature again at the Athens 2004 Olympics.
Advert
But her time representing her country was lucrative, as she helped take home a silver with her compatriots in the 1999 Pan American games, and then another silver four years later at the same competition in 2003.
Speaking about it at the time, Pettipiece said: "Everything happened like a whirlwind for me in 1998.
"I thought I was coming here to play basketball than I end up with softball and making All-American and become part of a national champion.
"Then, within six months of being a slap-hitter for Coach B, I am playing at the world level and end up scoring the winning run in the Olympic qualifying game to go to Japan in 1998."
The whirlwind certainly didn't stop there for her.
She was a US college softball coach at the time she walked into the Walmart, but her actions saw her dismissed.
So, what happened?
You probably guessed it, she was caught shoplifting - but she insists it was an honest mistake.
Eagle-eyed Walmart security guards spotted that while at a self-serve checkout she had not scanned $67 worth of groceries, which included asparagus and ham, but did however paid for everything else which totalled $176.
They called the cops, and when the police arrived, they discovered she had three disposable vapes in her purse, two unopened blisters packets which contained Zofran, as well as sickness medication, according to local news outlets.
However, she explained that the the anti-nausea tablets were her assistant coach's, who had asked her to put them in her purse when they were on the way to a softball game and the pair had simply 'forgot about them'.
She was charged on March 28 in Porter County, Indiana, for possession of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance, as well as theft.
The marijuana was allegedly in the vapes, which she explained didn't contain either nicotine or THC, and the controlled substance was from the blister packs.
Pettipiece said: “It was so ridiculous."
On Thursday (September 19), all the charges held against her were dismissed, but they had a career damaging affect on her.
Speaking from her home in Ohio, she said: “It is bittersweet. I’m happy, obviously, the charges were dismissed. The sad part is the damage it did to my career. It has changed everything in my life.
“It’s been five months, a living nightmare. I lost my career, I lost my job, the life I was building and it’s been really difficult."
She resigned as head coach of the softball team at Valparaiso University in Indiana days after being charged.