UPDATE (09/15/2023): On Friday, Sept. 15, Don Carlisle’s attorney Robert Hammerle released the following statement:

“The video that’s shown is not playing the first half of what happened. Where the student attacked my client and ripped a necklace off his neck. 

Mr. Carlisle was trying to confront him (the student) to get him to participate in class and the student refused and then attacked my client.” – Robert Hammerle (attorney for Don Carlisle)

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UPDATE (09/14/2023): A search of Don Carlisle’s name on the Indiana Dept. of Education’s Licensing dashboard shows the Ben Davis HS men’s basketball coach has been teaching Physical Education and Health with an emergency permit that expired on June 30, 2022.

Jeannine Templeman, Chief Communications Officer for the M.S.D. of Wayne Township, sent the following statement:

“Don Carlisle held an emergency permit from the Indiana Department of Education, which expired on June 30, 2022. The M.S.D. of Wayne Township Human Resources Office made multiple attempts throughout the 2022 – 2023 school year to prompt Mr. Carlisle to take the necessary steps to renew his teaching license or emergency permit with the IDOE. Mr. Carlisle, who is currently qualified and eligible for a substitute or emergency permit in the State of Indiana upon application and approval by the IDOE, assured us he was working toward his renewal; however, he did not complete the process.

We don’t currently have a timetable that dictates when a certified staff member moves to substitute teacher status or faces termination as a result of licensure non-renewal, which resulted in Mr. Carlisle teaching without renewing his license. We are reviewing this practice and procedure to prevent this in the future.”

M.S.D. of Wayne Township

——— Original story below ———

INDIANAPOLIS — A Wayne Township high school teacher and coach has been placed on leave amid “misconduct allegations” after Indianapolis police were called last week to Ben Davis High School to investigate an assault.

FOX59/CBS4 has confirmed the incident involved Ben Davis head men’s basketball coach Don Carlisle.

Searching Carlisle’s name generates an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department report referencing a disturbance that took place at 1200 N. Girls School Road, the address for Ben Davis, around 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 6. The report was taken around noon the next day.

The IMPD report lists the offense as simple assault and references an “unknown weapon” that was used. The report’s narrative merely references a “school disturbance” case report.

FOX59/CBS4 reached out to the Wayne Township Metropolitan School District on Tuesday night. A spokesperson responded with the following statement:

“The safety and well-being of students and employees is a top priority, and we take misconduct allegations very seriously. Upon learning of this allegation, we immediately reported it to the Indiana Department of Child Services. We are fully cooperating with authorities throughout their investigation and will continue to do so.

The employee in question is on leave during the investigation. We respect the right to privacy and due process of everyone involved and will refrain from further comment at this time.”

MSD of Wayne Township

When asked on Wednesday morning to further clarify if the employee mentioned in the statement was Carlisle, the District said they have “no additional information” to share at this time.

“We appreciate your patience as we cooperate with authorities on their investigation,” a spokesperson responded. “We are fully committed to providing accurate information in a responsible manner and will share more details as we are able.”

A FOX59/CBS4 reporter went to Carlisle’s home on Wednesday to ask for a statement, but no one answered the door.

Parents of students we spoke with on Wednesday said the accusation against the coach and teacher is disturbing to hear.

“There are other ways to handle that,” said Ben Davis parent Jovena Pullings. “We must take our time and understand that you are dealing with children. Every child is different, so you must approach different children differently.”

A former player and men’s basketball coach at IUPUI, Carlisle’s LinkedIn page says that he teaches P.E. for Wayne Township Schools in addition to coaching Ben Davis’ varsity team since 2018. Last year, Carlisle led the Giants to a 33-0 season and a Class 4A state championship.

Wayne Township school officials said Wednesday that they are fully cooperating with authorities throughout the investigation into the allegations. FOX59/CBS4 has a crew working to gather and confirm more information.