Report: Haliburton’s dad won’t attend Pacers games for foreseeable future
The Indiana Pacers are moving onto Round 2. John Haliburton is not.
The Indiana Pacers are moving onto Round 2. John Haliburton is not.
The father of Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton will not attend any Pacers games moving forward after an altercation with Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo on Tuesday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported.
The decision was made by Indiana’s front office and accepted by John Haliburton, Charania added.
Haliburton issued an apology on Wednesday.
“I sincerely apologize to Giannis, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Pacers organization for my actions following tonight’s game,” Haliburton wrote on X. “This was not a good reflection on our sport or my son and I will not make that mistake again.”
Haliburton and Antetokounmpo exchanged words in the aftermath of the Pacers’ series-clinching overtime win in Game 5.
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Amid the madness, Tyrese said he did not notice what happened until he saw replays in the locker room.
“I had no idea it happened until I got back to the locker room and they showed me the video of my pops,” the two-time all-star said after he made a decisive layup with 1.3 seconds left to give Indiana a 119-118 victory and a 4-1 series win.
“We had a little talk about it. I don’t agree with what transpired there. I think basketball is basketball and let’s keep it on the court. I think he just got excited.”
Antetokounmpo wasn’t pleased, either, after his team blew a seven-point lead in the final 40 seconds of overtime, sending the Bucks to their third straight first-round exit. The two-time MVP didn’t recognize John Haliburton, thinking he was just another fan who had run onto the court.
Antetokounmpo said he likes Haliburton, calling him a great competitor, but he said John Haliburton displaying a towel with his son’s image while yelling “this is what we (expletive) do” was wrong.
“I feel like that’s very, very disrespectful,” said Antetokounmpo, who finished with 30 points, 20 rebounds and 13 assists.
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Haliburton seemed genuinely upset about the incident, promising to reach out to Antetokounmpo before the teams play again.
“I’ll talk to Giannis about it eventually,” said Haliburton, who grew up in Oshkosh, Wisc. “I don’t think my pops was in the right at all there. It’s unfortunate what happened at the end there.
“It’s unfortunate what happened there (the scuffle), but I think it’s just competition,” he added. “As far as my pops, I don’t agree with what happened there. We’ll have a conversation.”
