Off-court stoush as auctioneer serves up Supreme Court action against Gold Coast Pickleball Association and Pickleball Association of Queensland

A prominent Glitter Strip auctioneer alleges he was the victim of “false witness, bullying, lying, extortion and harassment” after being banned from playing the boom sport of pickleball, lobbing a lawsuit on two sporting bodies.

The boom sport of pickleball has been soured by a legal pickle after a disgruntled Gold Coast player lobbed a lawsuit on officials that could see them in court rather than on it.

Philip Black, a prominent Glitter Strip auctioneer and pickleball fanatic, has served up Supreme Court action against the Gold Coast Pickleball Association and Pickleball Association of Queensland after he was allegedly kicked out of his local club and banned from playing.

His claim, which was filed this week, alleged he was the victim of “false witness, bullying, lying, extortion, harassment, conflicts of interest (and) denial of natural justice and procedural fairness”.

The 64-year-old alleged he was “unconstitutionally stood down” from the GCPA committee in 2021 after he refused requests to resign.

In court documents, Mr Black alleged a fellow committee member and wealthy businesswoman threatened to withdraw her funding for the association’s Currumbin courts unless he resigned “immediately”.

Pickleball player Philip Black, who has launched legal action after being kicked out. Picture: Nigel Hallett

“She said that I ‘could just go quietly’, that ‘nobody would know’, that ‘we could just tell people that you got too busy with your own work’, that ‘you couldn’t do the job properly’ (and) that “you could still help with social events and just play as normal otherwise’,” he alleged in the claim.

Mr Black said in his claim he was also concerned about alleged “poor and inappropriate governance, accountability and transparency” in the GCPA over finances, including spending on the Currumbin courts.

The claim alleged two female players were also bullied, with one branded a “court hog”.

Mr Black alleged that he was stood down from the GCPA committee for a “breach of confidentiality” after posting a Facebook Live video with the national pickleball association president, and later resigned along with a fellow committee member.

He alleged they were then “attacked” on a club messaging forum and the association’s hundreds of members were sent “misinformation” which “greatly (and) unfairly discredited (and) defamed us”.

He said he was “bullied and rattled” at his GCPA membership expulsion meeting in September 2021 and “shut down” after being given 15 minutes to state his case.

“I felt then as I do now that this could have been resolved – and the pain and suffering for many and the friendships lost over the last Two-and-a-half years – could have been avoided with a simple inquiry and a process of natural justice, procedural fairness, accountability and transparency by all,” he said in his court affidavit.

“I have for more than two years since my expulsion … made multiple attempts to get the wrongs righted, the perpetrators brought to justice and to clear my name, but to no avail.

“I am dismayed and shocked that this has resulted in it needing to go to the Supreme Court to be resolved.”

Mr Black, who now plays pickleball at another facility, is seeking orders including his reinstatement as a GCPA member and a public apology.

The GCPA and PAQ have yet to file a defence.

The GCPA and PAQ both declined to comment.

Invented in 1965, pickleball – described as a cross between tennis, ping pong and badminton – has become one of the world’s fastest growing sports with about 9 million players in the US and 25,000 in Australia, including thousands in Queensland.

US basketball legend LeBron James owns an American professional pickleball team and there are predictions pickleball could become an Olympic sport.