Closing in on their third win of the East Finals, the Indiana crowd was hyped during last Tuesday’s Game 4. But NFL legend Pat McAfee might have taken his excitement a bit too far. Early in the fourth quarter, he was handed the mic to address the thousands of Pacers fans in attendance. The former Indianapolis Colts star took that opportunity to call out several celebrity Knicks fans, including Spike Lee, Ben Stiller, and Timothee Chalamet.
“Let’s send these sons of b—— back to New York with their ears ringing. Let’s turn this s— up!” He yelled, causing the fans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to go wild. Pumped up after his speech, McAfee immediately turned and punched Rick Carlisle on his arm, as the Pacers head coach walked past him. Surprisingly, Carlisle had no reaction to Pat’s sudden hit, as he was seemingly locked in on leading his team to victory. However, the head coach did feel the effects of the awkward interaction next morning.
As Carlisle made an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, the ESPN employee couldn’t help but ask him about the viral incident, “We gotta get this out of the way for just my own personal reasons, I do that promo where I talk to everybody in the fourth quarter, ‘Let’s turn this s— up!’ I’m going to give the microphone back, you’re right there, I punch you right in the shoulder. No sell out of you. I don’t even think you glanced at me. Did you feel the shot? Was there a thought when I was talking?”
The head coach replied, “Yeah, I woke up with a bruise the next day and had forgotten what happened.” Turns out, Carlisle might have been in some pain the next morning after the adrenaline of the Game 4 win wore off. Obviously, Rick had no hard feelings with McAfee and his comment was all in good fun.
“I woke up with a bruise the next day
We appreciate you getting us going..
I don’t care what other people think because it was good” ~ Coach Carlisle #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/3TGsaHNQeX
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 2, 2025
He further proved it by appreciating the former Colts star being a Pacers fan, “Listen, we appreciate you Pat. We appreciate you getting us going. When you sit courtside, it’s awesome. And I don’t care what other people think, its good.” Even McAfee felt a bit relieved by Rick’s positive response, as he said, “Okay. Hey, I needed that. That makes me feel good coach.”
(Developing Story)
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