BREAKING NEWS: Rick Carlisle current head coach of Indiana pacers Out Indefinitely Suffering in Surprise….. view more

In a shocking twist that has nothing to do with basketball, Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle has reportedly been placed on an indefinite leave of absence after what the team is calling a “highly unusual farm-related incident.”

Sources close to the team say Carlisle was visiting a remote goat sanctuary outside Bloomington as part of a team-building retreat when he was “aggressively cuddled” by several goats who mistook him for a salt lick.

“He was just trying to feed them. But one goat got a little too friendly,” said team forward Obi Toppin, who witnessed the incident. “Next thing we know, Rick’s on the ground, and we hear him mumble, ‘This is not what I meant by going back to basics.’”

Pacers front office released a brief statement:
“Coach Carlisle is currently recovering at home. He’s in good spirits, though slightly covered in goat fur. We expect a full return once the trauma subsides and he stops saying ‘Baaaaa’ in press conferences.”

In the meantime, assistant coach Jenny Bickerstaff will serve as interim head coach. “I’ve been preparing for this moment ever since I watched Air Bud,” Bickerstaff told reporters.

Carlisle is expected to return in time for training camp… unless he accepts the rumored offer to coach a semi-pro goat yoga league in Oregon.