The most likely explanation is an experimental error. The following quote of the article should give you a pause:
> But there are potential problems for the sterile neutrino interpretation: results from other neutrino experiments, such as IceCube and Minos, show no evidence for a particle of this kind.
As I understand, sterile neutrino explanation not only requires you to trust MiniBooNE, but also requires you to distrust IceCube and Minos. I don't see reasons to do so.
> But there are potential problems for the sterile neutrino interpretation: results from other neutrino experiments, such as IceCube and Minos, show no evidence for a particle of this kind.
As I understand, sterile neutrino explanation not only requires you to trust MiniBooNE, but also requires you to distrust IceCube and Minos. I don't see reasons to do so.