Pacers fan Jarrett Funke was arrested for stabbing two Knicks fan in a brewery during game 2
A Carmel man Jarrett Funke was arrested and charged on May 23 for stabbing a Knicks fan at a pub and wounding another supporter, apparently taking the rivalry between the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks too far.
Who is Pacers fan Jarrett Funke who stabbed two New York Knicks NBA fans in Carmel Brewery in Indiana
Indiana man Jarrett Funke has been charged after reportedly stabbing two New York Knicks fans at a brewery during Game 2 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals earlier this month, per @FOX59 pic.twitter.com/tXQRs5pFh6
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 27, 2025
On Tuesday, Indiana Pacers supporter Jarrett Funke was charged with stabbing two New York Knicks supporters in a Carmel Brewery in Indiana.
After speaking with all parties engaged in the altercation and at the bar, the officer concluded that Funke was the aggressor, notwithstanding Funke’s allegation that the Knicks supporters instigated the altercation.
#NEW: An Indiana Pacers fan stabbed two New York Knicks fans while watching Game 2 at a bar in Carmel, IN on Friday night, per court docs. The victims told cops Jarrett Funke was harassing them for being Knicks fans and after he got kicked out he came back and stabbed them. pic.twitter.com/0Q1T3L6MQI
— Max Lewis (@MaxLewisTV) May 27, 2025
The event took place at the Carmel, Indiana, brewery on Friday, May 23 right after the Game 2 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. Jarrett Funke who is 24 is now facing one Level 6 felony charge for criminal negligence with a deadly weapon and two Level 5 felonies, battery by means of a deadly weapon and battery inflicting significant bodily damage.
When police got on the scene, they discovered two people who had been stabbed, one in the leg and one in the back.
The stabbing occurred around 10:40 p.m. after the Pacers fan, Jarrett Funke, 24, had harassed two Knicks fans while they were watching the game at Danny Boy Beer Works bar in Carmel.
He “briefly displayed a black folding pocket knife to deter (Funke), but repocketed it, as he had no intention of using it,” according to one of the victims, who informed police this. According to reports, Funk started shouting at one of the victims after removing a Knicks cap from him.
At that point, Funke’s father grabbed his son and attempted to de-escalate the situation as bar staff called police and told Funke and his family to leave the premises.
After receiving the warning, Funke’s father started to drag his son out of the bar, as Jarrett yelled at the Knicks fan, “F**k you, you still have a f*****g problem. Take this outside.”
After Funke left, the two Knicks fans stepped onto the bar’s patio to smoke and that’s when Funke stormed onto the patio and began harassing them once more.
After being shoved to the ground by one of the Knicks supporters, Jarrett Funke allegedly said that he “retrieved his pocketknife from his hoodie and swung it around towards (one of the Knicks fans) back with his right hand” and “began punching him in the face.”
Although Funke stated that the disturbance was caused by Knicks supporters, court records indicate that several witnesses identified Funke as the “primary aggressor.”
Police arrested Funke, while emergency medical personnel transported the two Knicks fans to a hospital and on May 27, 2025, the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office charged Funke with battery by means of a deadly weapon, battery resulting in serious bodily injury, criminal recklessness and battery.
The Pacers won the game to take a 2-0 series lead, but New York won their first game of the series on Sunday night after rallying from a 20-point hole for the third time this postseason.
The Knicks and Pacers have faced off nine times in the playoffs and four of which have occurred in the 1990s. They also faced off in the Eastern Conference semifinals the previous year.