Pacers plan to make good after Boomer backboard incident

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - More than 100 students from a Hancock County high school will be personal guests of Boomer at the Indiana Pacers game Tuesday night, after the energetic mascot destroyed one of the school’s backboards .

Video of the Pacers mascot dunking at New Palestine High School Friday night gained popularity quickly on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The dunk ended in the shattering of a glass backboard that caused the high school’s basketball game to be moved to an auxiliary gym.

No one was injured in the incident, and now the Pacers are working with school officials to replace the backboard. The team sent crews over Monday to install a temporary fix, but a more permanent one is in the works, said Greg Schenkel, vice president of corporate, community and public relations for the Pacers.

The morning after the incident, Pacers officials got in touch with the school’s principal and athletic director, Schenkel said. Both sides have been congenial.

“Once everyone realized that no one was injured and the game could go on, everyone had a good time with it,” Schenkel said. “It’s been a very friendly situation.”

All the details on the replacement backboard are still being determined, but Schenkel said the team hopes to have it fixed within just a few days so the student athletes aren’t inconvenienced.

In the meantime, a large group of them is expected at Bankers Life Fieldhouse as the Pacers face the Orlando Magic Tuesday night. After the incident, Boomer tweeted to invite New Palestine students to be his guest at the home game. More than 100 students signed up to come to the game.