After Tyrese Haliburton‘s father had a confrontation with Milwaukee Bucks player Giannis Antetokounmpo after the Indiana Pacers won a playoff series, the Pacers have decided that John Haliburton will not attend any more games, home or away, at the moment.
According to USA Today, John approached Giannis on the basketball court after his son Tyrese scored what would be the winning shot of the contest. The proud father is seen on video waving a towel with his son’s face on it while seemingly yelling at the opposing center. Someone who saw the interaction rushed over and stopped John, as Giannis stood in disbelief, and the home crowd went wild in celebration.
Here’s another angle of Haliburton’s dad and Giannis. This is insane behavior by an old ass man.
Watch the guy in the black jersey initially sitting down in a chair with the towel on the baseline pic.twitter.com/4ldMy1Oxke
— sqr (@squaresense) April 30, 2025
John was sitting in a courtside seat at the Pacers’ home court at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
He later publicly apologized for his action via social media.
I sincerely apologize to Giannis, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Pacers organization for my actions following tonight’s game. This was not a good reflection on our sport or my son and I will not make that mistake again.
— John Haliburton (@PapaHaliburton) April 30, 2025
Although the apology was issued, the Pacers front office met with Haliburton’s dad and decided he would not be allowed to attend any of the Pacers’ upcoming games. The team advanced in the playoffs to play against the top-seeded team in the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Pacers’ vice president of basketball communications and media relations, Michael Preston, confirmed the decision.
BREAKING: Tyrese Haliburton’s father John will not attend Indiana’s home and road games for the foreseeable future, per @ShamsCharania.
Haliburton was involved in an on-court incident with Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo following the Pacers win on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/Yl8a8DWFO6
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) May 1, 2025
Giannis did accept the apology, as the two did speak before leaving the court, but he also had this to say after the incident:
“I’m happy for him, I’m happy for his son, and I’m happy that he’s happy for his son. That’s how you’re supposed to feel. But coming to me and disrespecting me and cursing at me, I think, is totally unacceptable, totally unacceptable.”
Tyrese also stated that he didn’t agree with the actions of his father.
The next game for the Pacers will take place May 4 in Cleveland.
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