Indiana
Boston Celtics (2-0) at Indiana Pacers (0-2) Eastern Conference Finals Game #3 5/25/24
As the series moves to Indiana, the Celtics look to take a commending 3-0 lead in the series. The Pacers stayed with the Celtics throughout the first game and it was only due to their miscues and lack of poise at the end of regulation and in OT that the Celtics were able to pull out the win. They hung with the Celtics at the start of Game 2 but in the end, the Celtics were able to pull away for a comfortable win.
The Celtics are 10-2 in the playoffs so far. Their 2 losses were at home in Game 2 in both of the first two rounds. They are 4-0 on the road in the playoffs so far, winning Games 3 and 4 on the road in both Miami and Cleveland. The Pacers, on the other hand are 6-0 at home in the playoffs so far. They have also won 11 straight home games going back to March 18. The Celtics are going to need to come in focused and ready to play hard in order to get a win on the Pacers home court.
Game 3 in any series is important. Teams that win the first two games of a best-of-seven series at home go on to win the series 94.0% of the time. Teams that lead a best-of-seven series 2-1 go on to win the series 79.8% of the time. However, teams that win the first three games of a best-of-seven series go on to win the series 100% of the time. No team has ever come back from being down 0-3 and so if the Celtics can win Game 3, they can pretty much guarantee themselves a trip to the Finals.
This is the Celtics 6th appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals in 8 years. It is also their 3rd straight Eastern Conference Finals appearance. The Pacers have not been in the Eastern Conference Finals since 2014 when they lost in 6 games to the Heat. The Pacers last appearance in the playoffs was in 2018-19 when they were swept by the Celtics in the first round. The Celtics won 4 of the 6 series between these two teams so far and all of them were in the first round.
Kristaps Porzingis has been ruled out for this game. He is still dealing with a calf injury that he suffered in Game 4 of Boston’s first-round series against the Heat. The Celtics are being cautious with him but are hoping to get him back for Game 4 of this series. However, he hasn’t practiced with the team as yet so it’s only rumor as of now. He did travel with the team to Indiana, however. Jrue Holiday was a late addition to the injury list as questionable with a non-covid illness. I’m not sure who Mazzulla would start if Jrue can’t go but it may be Payton Pritchard or maybe Oshae Brissett.
Luke Kornet suffered a sprained left wrist in the first quarter of Thursday’s game and is doubtful for this game. With Porzingis out and trying to keep Horford’s minutes low, this leaves the Celtics short handed at center. When Kornet went out in Game 2, Joe Mazzulla chose to go small and brought in Oshae Brissett for his first meaningful playoff minutes. By going small, the Celtics rotated quicker and were able to keep pace better with the Pacers. The Celtics may go small again or may give Xavier Tillman some time at center as well.
For the Pacers, Benedict Mathurin remains out after undergoing season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum. With just under three minutes left in the third quarter of Game 2 on Thursday, Tyrese Haliburton left the game and limped to the locker room. He was ruled out for the rest of the game with a hamstring injury. He injured the same hamstring on 1/8 and missed 10 of the next 11 games. Indiana went 6-4 without him. He is listed as questionable for this game. I’m going to guess that they will keep him out of this game and that TJ McConnell with get the start in his place.
Probable Celtics Starters
Celtics Reserves
Oshae Brissett
Sam Hauser
Svi Mykhailiuk
Payton Pritchard
Jordan Walsh
Jaden Springer
Xavier Tillman
Neemias Queta
2 Way Players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Injuries/Out
Kristaps Porzingis (calf) out
Luke Kornet (wrist) doubtful
Jrue Holiday (illness) questionable
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Pacers Starters
(As of now, Haliburton is questionable with a sore hamstring. Since this is a recurring injury I’m guessing that he will be out. But, as of now, he is just questionable and McConnell starting is just a guess.)
Pacers Reserves
Isaiah Jackson
Quenton Jackson
James Johnson
Doug McDermott
Ben Sheppard
Jalen Smith
Obi Toppin
Jarace Walker
Two Way Players
Kendall Brown
Oscar Tshiebwe
Isaiah Wong
Injuries/Out
Benedict Mathurin (shoulder) out
Tyrese Haliburton (hamstring) questionable
Head Coach
Rick Carlisle
Key Matchups
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Jayson Tatum
Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
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Pascal Siakam
Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images
Jayson Tatum vs Pascal Siakam
Siakam finished Game 1 with 24 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 steal while shooting 52.2% from the field and was 0-2 from beyond the arc. He finished Game 2 with 28 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists while shooting 76.5% from the field and was 2-2 on three pointers. Tatum has struggled early in both games so far but thankfully his teammates were able to come up big until he was able to contribute later in the game. The Celtics need more from him on both ends of the court throughout the game in this one.
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Al Horford
Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
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Myles Turner
Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Al Horford vs Myles Turner
Turner finished Game 1 with 23 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks while shooting 69.2% from the field and 75% from beyond the arc. He struggled somewhat in Game 2 with 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 steal while shooting 42.9% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. The Celtics have to be aware of his presence in the paint as he is a good rim protector and also a good rebounder. They also have to stay with him on the perimeter as he has been shooting very well from beyond the arc. With the Celtics trying to limit Horford’s minutes and Kornet likely to be out, we may see some Xavier Tillman at center or we may see more small ball with Brissett getting more minutes.
Honorable Mention
Derrick White vs Andrew Nembhard
Ordinarily, this would be the Holiday/Haliburton matchup, but with Haliburton out, or not 100%, this would be a key with Nembhard looking to pick up his game to make up for Haliburton being injured. In Game 1, Nembhard finished with 12 points, 3 rebounds, and 7 assists while shooting 50% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. In Game 2, he finished with 16 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal while shooting 50% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc. In Game 2, White came alive offensively, after struggling for a couple of games. He finished with 23 points, including 4 threes. The Celtics need more of that from him in this game.
Keys to the Game
Defense – Defense is the key to winning every single game and especially against the Pacers as they lead the playoffs with 121.0 offensive rating. The Celtics are 2nd in the playoffs with a 120.1 offensive rating. The Celtics are 3rd in the playoffs with a defensive rating of 108.1. The Pacers are 13th with a defensive rating of 119.1. The Celtics need to make defense their identity and their priority. In Game 1, the Pacers shot 53.3% from the field and 37.1% from beyond the arc. In Game 2, the Pacers shot 52.4% from the field and 37.9% from beyond the arc. The Celtics have to step up their defense in this series as they likely won’t win a shoot out against the high scoring Pacers. The Celtics must defend them both in the paint and on the perimeter. Defense down the stretch helped to pull out Game 1 and defense allowed the Celtics to pull away in Game 2. Defense will determine the winner of this series. The Celtics need to play lock down defense for 48 minutes and not just in spurts.
Rebound – The Celtics are 3rd in the playoffs, pulling down 44.3 rebounds per game. The Pacers are12th with 40.9 rebounds per game. In Game 1, the Pacers out-rebounded the Celtics 44-43, and the Celtics almost lost the game. In Game 2, the Celtics out-rebounded the Pacers 40-37. Much of rebounding is desire and effort and the Celtics have got to put out more effort on the boards than the Pacers if they want to get a win in this game. Other than Game 1, the Celtics have won every game in the playoffs that they have out rebounded their opponent and they have lost the 2 games where they were out-rebounded. As with defense, rebounding will be key to winning this game
Bench Play – The Celtics need to get help from their reserves. The Celtics bench loses a lot with Al Horford moving into the starting lineup and will take another hit with Luke Kornet’s injury. In their first 2 rounds, the Pacers reserves averaged 32 points or more per game. TJ McConnell, who is a problem off the bench as he is a pesky defender and brings a lot of energy to the Pacers may need to start with Haliburton questionable for this game. In Game 1, the Pacers got 30 points off their bench while the Celtics got just 13 points from theirs. In game 2, the Celtics got 19 points from their reserves while the Pacers got 39 points from their reserves. The Celtics need for their reserves to score and to defend well to take some of the pressure off the starters.
Effort and Focus for 48 Minutes – The Celtics have to play every minute with extra effort. The Pacers play hard and fast and so the Celtics need to match that effort and play even harder. The team that plays harder and is more aggressive is usually the team that comes out on top and that also gets the better whistle. The Celtics also have to stay focused. They have to focus on taking good shots and making them and on playing as a team and making the right play every time. They also have to keep that effort and focus up for 48 minutes with no let up and no collapse, especially on defense.
Move the Ball – The Celtics are tough to beat when they keep the ball moving and they make the extra pass to find the best shot. They struggle when they lapse into iso ball and when players hold the ball too long. The Pacers move the ball very well and are 1st in the playoffs, averaging 30.1 assists per game. They racked up 38 assists on 53 field goals in Game 1. In Game 2, they had just 23 assists while the Celtics had 28 assists. The Celtics have to keep the ball moving and avoid lapsing into iso ball and over dribbling the ball.
X-Factors
On The Road – The Celtics are on the road for the first time in this series. The Pacers are 6-0 at home in the playoffs so far and the Celtics are 4-0 on the road. During the regular season, the Celtics were 27-14 on the road while the Pacers were 26-15 at home. The Celtics can’t allow the distractions of travel and a hostile crowd to take away from their focus on the game.
Injuries – Injuries may come into play in this series with Porzingis remaining out and now Luke Kornet being doubtful. That will make the Celtics short handed at center and so it will be next man up, whether Xavier Tillman gets minutes at center or possibly we will see more of Oshae Brissett in this one again. For the Pacers, if Tyrese Haliburton is out with the hamstring injury, it will affect the Pacers offense. However, it may help their defense somewhat since the Celtics were constantly targeting Haliburton’s defense in Game 2.
Officiating -Officiating is always an x-factor. Every crew calls the game a little differently with some calling it tight and others letting them play. They seem to be letting them play more in these playoffs so far, but that could change with any given crew and any given game. In Game 1, the Celtics shot 30 free throws to just 10 for the Pacers. In Game 2, the Celtics took 20 free throws to 16 for the Pacers. The Celtics have to adjust to how the game is being called and focus on the game and not on the officials.
Official Report
Crew Chief – Marc Davis – Davis has a home win/loss record of 41-34 this season. He calls 51% of fouls on the road team and 49% on the home team. Boston is 7-3 in their last 10 games with Davis as the crew chief, including the May 1 win over Miami in the first round and May 13 win over Cleveland in Game 5. Indiana is 6-4 in their last 10 with Davis, including Game 2 loss and the Game 7 win in New York. Davis was voted the third worst referee in the league in a poll of the players, behind Scott Foster and Tony Brothers. Comments from players say he is arrogant and will sometime instigate things. He wasn’t bad in Game 5 against the Heat or Game 4 against the Cavs.
Referee – John Goble – Goble has a home win/loss record of 22-13. He calls 43% of fouls against the road team and 57% on the home team. The Celtics are 7-3 in their last 10 games with Goble including the Game 2 loss to the Cavs and the game 4 win over Miami. The Pacers are 8-2 in their last 10 games with Goble including Game 2 win over the Bucks and Game 4 win over the Knicks. Goble also called one win and one loss against Indiana in the regular season.
Umpire – Courtney Kirkland – Kirkland has a home win/loss record of 30-33 this season. In the playoffs, he calls 47% of fouls on the road team and 53% on the home team. The Celtics are 8-2 in their last 10 games with Kirkland on the crew, including Game 4 at Miami in Round 1 and Game 4 against Cleveland. Indiana is 4-6 in their last 10 with Kirkland, including Game 6 win over the Bucks. 2 years ago during the ECF between Boston and Miami, Kirkland was the replay official in Secaucus who said Max Strus was out of bounds on a key 3 in Game 7. He was not bad in the previous games in these playoffs.
And make sure to check out CelticsBlog’s Playback stream for a live conversation about the game. To participate, just create a free account, connect your LP sub if you have it, and join our community.
Indiana football: Holy water sprinkled at Big Ten championship, Rose Bowl
Watch Indiana grad sprinkle Bloomington holy water before Big Ten title, Rose Bowl
When photographer Garrett Ewald flew in from New York for the Big Ten Football championship at Lucas Oil Stadium, he had no plans of pouring an 8-ounce bottle of holy water onto the Indiana end zone, water pumped from a well at a Catholic retreat center in Bloomington where the liquid has long been touted as having spiritual and healing properties.
He, admittedly, was a tad nervous that “someone might tackle me and call Homeland Security or something” as he nonchalantly sprinkled the holy water on Indiana football’s sideline and end zone before they took on Ohio State.
But his heart got the best of him. His roots got the best of him; he’s an IU grad. The idea of that water got the best of him. “What the hell?” said Ewald, who was on the field to shoot photos for The Bloomingtonian. “You never know.”
Earlier that day, Ewald had visited Mother of the Redeemer Retreat Center a few miles west of Bloomington, located on a hilly, lush green, peaceful property where people have gathered to pray, to heal and to attend retreats for more than 30 years.
Ewald was brought there by his friend and longtime IU senior associate athletics director Harold Mauro, whose grandchild is buried on the property. For years, Mauro has been devoted to the center, doing maintenance and upkeep at the place he and those who love it call “the farm.”
Mauro not only spent 22 years as athletics administrator at IU, he played football for IU the last time the team made the Rose Bowl in 1968. He was a part of nine of IU’s 10 bowl games as a player, assistant coach or administrator.
“And so we were there with Harold visiting. My other friends were maybe a little bit more religious than I am, but I went with an open mind and was happy to see how much joy it brought to Harold,” Ewald said. “He mentioned in passing how the well on the property has had some moderately documented examples of miraculous healing. And he insisted on giving us (water), so he gave us a little plastic jug of water when we left.”
At some point on his drive to Lucas Oil Stadium from the farm, Ewald had an idea. “I said, ‘You know, I’ll bring some in and I’ll sprinkle it on the field.’” He dumped out an 8-ounce bottle of regular water, put the holy water in its place and made his move.
“I was trying to be a little bit surreptitious, so I walked holding the bottle in one hand, the lid just slightly open, and then my other hand had my cellphone,” he said. “I just kind of walked down behind the bench, dribbling water out as I went. And then I walked across the Indiana end zone as well, sprinkling the rest of the water as I went. And I let Harold know that I had done it, and he was like, ‘That’s great.’”
Mauro didn’t ask him to do it, but Ewald thought it would make him happy.
Then, Ohio State missed that 27-yard field goal wide left with less than 3 minutes to play, which could have tied the game 13-13. It was missed it in the end zone where Ewald had sprinkled the water.
IU walked away with its first outright Big Ten championship since 1945.
Of course, as faith usually goes, no one had any proof that water had done anything. Few even knew of Ewald’s sprinkling. But those who did, and those who believed, were all in on making sure that water followed IU as far as their magical football playoff run took them.
They made sure the holy water from the farm was in Pasadena for the Rose Bowl. And it will be there Friday for the Peach Bowl.
And should IU make it to the national championship, the holy water will flow there as well.
PERFECT! Buy this IU football championship book
‘Our Lady was like the 12th man on the field’
Fr. Terrance Chartier didn’t find out the water from his farm had blessed the IU portion of Lucas Oil’s field until after the game when Mauro’s wife sent him a video of Ewald pouring it out at the stadium.
“And I thought of Our Lady as like the 12th man on the field,” said Chartier, a priest with the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, who is stationed at the Mother of the Redeemer Retreat Center. “I thought she was there, especially with the field goal. Indoors, no wind, no rain, 27-yard field goal.
“I watched almost in disbelief as the kicker totally missed. I noted afterwards that the kicker was kicking into the same end zone with Indiana’s name on it, same end zone where Indiana had scored their touchdown in the third quarter and the same end zone that I saw Harold’s friend sprinkling the farm water in that video.”
Chartier scrapped the homily he had prepared on habits for the following Sunday morning and replaced it with an IU football-themed homily instead, which explained more about the water on his farm and what had happened in Indianapolis the weekend before.
“For those of you who don’t know, the water from the well here at the farm has reportedly been the cause of a number of miraculous cures,” Chartier said in his homily.
One of the biggest and most recent happened in January 2024 when Eric Johnson of New Albany, who had been suffering from a neuromuscular disease for nearly eight years and had a permanent disability, started drinking the water.
“He was actually cured of it after drinking water from the farm,” Chartier said. “His neurologist told him that there was no medical or scientific explanation for his cure.”
Chartier points to a number of similar stories regarding the farm water, including a spiritual directee of his in Norway who drank the water and believes she was cured of her lymphoma because of it. There are dozens of other, smaller, cures the water has brought to people, including cataracts, aches and pain and emotional distress.
“So, I knew the farm water and I knew it’s holy and I believe it was given by God to help heal people. But to help IU win the Big Ten championship? I hadn’t thought about that,” Chartier said.
But then he started thinking about Mauro, who has been so faithful to the farm, about his ties with IU and the fact that he is the one who gave Ewald the water, never expecting it would be used for IU football.
“I think she gave that victory last Saturday to Harold as an early Christmas gift, to thank him for his faithfulness and for all the good that he’s done for the farm,” Chartier said in his homily. “And I think she gave the victory also as a gift to her other son, the IU quarterback [Fernando Mendoza], who is a very faithful Catholic, too. And even as a gift to her other faithful children who were on the team.
“So may she, our lady of victories, continue to grant us all the spiritual victories that we need in this life, and even some of those other victories which are a sign and an encouragement to us, her children.”
Why is the water at Mother of the Redeemer considered holy?
Jim and Ruth Ann Wade, both longtime educators in Bloomington’s public schools, made way for the retreat center in 1993 when they gave up their home and farm, and dedicated it for Mother of the Redeemer.
Ruth Ann is a locutionist, Chartier said, someone who hears directly from the Lord and from Mary, the mother of Jesus.
“And that was one of the first things that they had asked for, that the farm would be turned into a retreat center,” he said. “And she was told, among other things, that the water on the property is holy and it could be used for blessing people and healings as well.”
But not all the water on the property is holy, only the water that flows from the green pump.
“The Lord Jesus told Ruth Ann that all the water under the original 40 acres, green pump only, is holy water and blessed by God and it has healing powers which God uses as an instrument of healing if he so chooses,” according to Mother of the Redeemer. “This pump is the only pump on the land that comes directly from the natural waters. Other water on the property is city water. Simply put, yes it is holy water blessed by God and by a priest.”
The water comes from a well located at the bottom of the hill on the property next to the Wades’ home. People travel from all over to get jugs of the water, which volunteers at the center pump. Visitors are also welcome to pump their own water and, after Chartier’s homily, there’s been quite an uptick in travelers to the well.
As for Ewald, he is making sure a bit of that water ends up on IU’s end zone for the rest of the season.
He made it happen at the Rose Bowl, albeit, he only had about two tablespoons to sprinkle. That water was brought from Mother of the Redeemer by a priest close with Mendoza and other players on the team.
Fr. Patrick Hyde, a Dominican priest and pastor of the St. Paul Catholic Center, held a private mass for players in Pasadena the night before the Rose Bowl. Mendoza, a devout Catholic, credited Hyde and the center for supporting his faith when he won the Heisman trophy.
Ewald met Hyde that night (the priest was wearing an IU sweatshirt and backpack) to secure the water.
“It was a little tiny bottle. They were nervous about how much they could bring, so it was like maybe a couple tablespoons of water,” Ewald said. “So I was a little bit more judicious in my sprinklings to make it last.” That meant no sprinkling on the sideline by the Indiana bench, just on its end zone.
“And we had so much rain,” Ewald said. “I was kind of like, you know, theoretically, it was getting diluted by all the rainwater.” But IU won, so it seemed to work.
Father Hyde will bring Ewald more water Friday night in Atlanta and the IU grad from the 1980s and one of the most veteran photographers of IU football will do his thing again.
Ewald’s just worried about one minor issue: This story will be published before the Peach Bowl.
“Well, hopefully they won’t detain me when I come in,” he said, “saying, ‘You’re the guy who’s been sprinkling water on our fields, damn it.’”
Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on X: @DanaBenbow. Reach her via email: dbenbow@indystar.com.
Nick Saban had a chance to weigh in on the state of Alabama football after 2025 on Wednesday on the Pat McAfee Show.
McAfee questioned whether Alabama should have hired a Saban disciple to replace him considering all four coaches left in the playoff once worked for Saban at Alabama.
“I think if somebody was available, I’m not sure anybody was available that they could have maybe gotten to come here,” Saban said. “I do think that Kalen DeBoer is a really good coach and doing a good job here.”
Saban highlighted the “tough transition” DeBoer underwent with all of the players coming and going.
“So that’s a lot to overcome for anybody,” Saban said. “It would have been a lot to overcome for even for one of the guys that formerly coached for me.”
Saban then said he “fully supports” Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne, what he’s done and how the administrator has done it.
“I’m hoping they get the ship going in the right direction here,” Saban said. “It’s not bad to get in the playoffs and finish you know in the final eight, but not the expectation around here, which is tough to live up to sometimes.”
During his appearance on McAfee, Saban also talked some about Indiana and what the Hoosiers did to beat Alabama 38-3 in the Rose Bow.
“Indiana man, I mean they were impressive in the game,” Saban said. “Not that Alabama played great, and they made some mistakes early on that hurt them … These cats, man. Everybody talks about their offense. They’ve got some dawgs on defense now. These guys play hard, they play fast, they play together, they don’t make a lot of mental mistakes. They’re well coached. They fit the runs. This pop they put on Ty (Simpson) right here. …. Incredible the job they’ve done at Indiana. Curt Cig has done a fantastic job there.”
We loved our free-range childhoods. Now we’re fighting to make sure Hoosier parents won’t get arrested for giving their kids the same freedom.
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It’s tempting to think Democrats and Republicans can’t agree on anything these days, but the two of us wholeheartedly agree on this:
Our childhoods were awesome.
In fact, we loved our childhoods so much, we are co-sponsoring a bill that would ensure Indiana parents can let their kids enjoy their childhoods just as much. Under our bill, parents can let their kids play outside, walk to the store, romp in the woods and stomp in the rain without worrying that this wonderful independence could be mistaken for neglect.
The so-called “Reasonable Childhood Independence” bill has been passed in 11 states so far — red, blue, and purple. It is not a free pass for abusive parents. It is reassurance for all decent Hoosiers that they don’t have to worry about being investigated or arrested for giving their kids some unsupervised time.
House Bill 1035 simply says that “neglect” is when you put your child in obvious and serious danger — not anytime you take your eyes off them. This helps parents who want to give their kids a longer leash. And it helps parents in poverty who have little choice but to do so — for instance, a single mom working two jobs who lets her kid come home with a latchkey.
It also helps all the parents desperate to get their kids off screens: You take away the phone — and open the door.
Our own childhoods were as outdoors and free range as they come. Jake grew up in Michiana, running around, looking for trees to build tree houses in. Other times he’d jump on his bike and go to the ballpark with friends, or go get a burger or even, yes, some Big League Chew.
Victoria biked all over the place, too — after telling her parents where she was heading. (No cell phones back then.) There was a hill everyone loved to ride down and a 7-Eleven where she’d go with her friends for lunch, which consisted of … a Slurpee. Yes, your elected representatives made some slightly suboptimal choices as kids. That’s part of growing up. It was a magical time.
It was also foundational. Jake works in commercial construction when he’s not legislating. He credits the give-and-take of those unsupervised ballgames with building the client skills he uses to this day. (And maybe the tree houses launched his career in construction.)
Victoria went on to become an associate professor and program director in occupational therapy at Indiana University. Working with young kids, she has seen the slow decline in developmental milestones as the run-around childhood got replaced by a sedentary, screen-based one.
That’s another reason we are so keen to pass this bill. Autonomy isn’t something “nice” to have. It is crucial. We all know about the youth mental health crisis. Let’s make it at least as easy for kids to go outside as it is for them to go online.
Some people may think the reason a supervised, structured childhood has become so normal is because the crime rate is so high. But the murder rate today is lower than it was in the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s.
The Reasonable Childhood Independence bill allows parents to decide for themselves when their kids are ready to do some things on their own.
“As parents, you have a good understanding of where your children are on their level of responsibility,” says Rep. Ryan Lauer, Vice Chair of the House Family and Children Committee, who is also co-sponsoring this bill.
And yet we’ve all heard the stories of decent parents being investigated simply because they didn’t hover — like that mom in Georgia, Brittany Patterson, arrested in 2024 because her 10-year-old walked to town without telling her. Or that mom in South Carolina, Debra Harrell, a few years back. She let her daughter, 9, play at a popular sprinkler park while she worked her shift at McDonald’s. For this, Harrell was thrown in jail and had her daughter taken from her for 17 days.
As parents, we shudder at the thought of overreach like that. We also shudder at the thought of child abuse. By narrowing the definition of neglect, our law gives hardworking Department of Child Services personnel more time to focus on the kids who are truly in danger.
Hoosier parents deserve the freedom to take their eyes off their kids when they know their kids are ready. Hoosier kids deserve to enjoy that freedom. And if they use it to make a tree house or drink a Slurpee for lunch, well, that’s not against the law.
Rep. Jake Teshka represents Indiana’s 7th District (St. Joseph, Marshall and LaPorte counties). Rep. Victoria Garcia Wilburn represents Indiana’s 32nd District (Marion and Hamilton counties).
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