Things went south for a former Olympian who was arrested and lost her job as an NCAA Division 1 softball coach after she reportedly failed to scan items meant for purchase properly at a Walmart self-checkout kiosk.
Meaggan Pettipiece, formerly the head coach of the Valparaiso University softball team, said her life has been a "living nightmare" after the self-checkout machine at a Walmart location in Indiana didn't register her purchases of asparagus and ham when she visited the store on March 28.
Store security reportedly called the police after they alleged that Pettipiece failed to scan the items, worth $67, even though she paid $176 for the other groceries, and explained she didn't know the machine didn't register the items.
She was arrested anyway.
When officers searched her purse, they found three disposable vapes as well as two unopened blister packs containing the anti-nausea medication Zofran.
In addition to being charged with theft, the former softball player—who played outfield for the Canadian national team in the 2000 and 2004 Olympic games—was charged with possession of marijuana and a controlled substance.
Following the news headlines of her arrest that swept across the Hoosier State, Pettipiece resigned as head coach for the Valparaiso softball team on April 1.
An investigation later found that the self-checkout machine did not register the items she meant to purchase.
Additionally, Pettipiece said the vapes did not contain nicotine or THC, nor did the anti-nausea pills, which she was asked to hold for an assistant coach during a game days before the arrest and had forgotten about them.
The incident left the internet buzzing about the inherent problems associated with the "convenience" of self-checkout.
People continued sharing their thoughts.
The National Post reported that justice officials dismissed the charges after Pettipiece's lawyer submitted an application for dismissal earlier in September that included her account of the incident, proof of her assistant’s prescription, and character reference letters.
“It is bittersweet,” she told the newspaper, recalling the incident having "a living nightmare" impact on her life and career. “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.”
She continued:
“I lost my career, I lost my job, the life I was building and it’s been really difficult."
As coach at Valparaiso, she was living in Indiana away from her home in Ohio. Now, Pettipiece is accentuating the positive in light of the debacle.
“I’m happy my family’s all back together," she said. "We sacrificed as a family for me to be there coaching and continuing my coaching career.”
However, Pettipiece noted that her career now has “damage that can’t be reversed" and wonders if news of being exonerated of the charges will change people's perception of her.
“The tough thing is, how do you get out to people that you are innocent? And this damage was done for something so ridiculous," she wondered.
Now that she's cleared to teach again, Pettipiece is considering a different option of building a career as a softball umpire at the collegiate level rather than coaching.
She told the newspaper:
“I’m not sure of the future. For now, I’m going to stay at home and focus on my kids. I’d like to figure out which direction I’m going to go in.”
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