Things got heated in Bankers Life Fieldhouse this week after John Haliburton antagonized Giannis Antetokounmpo in a viral encounter. John (who is Tyrese Haliburton’s father) stepped up on Giannis after a Pacers win in round one, and now the organization has announced an indefinite ban for the NBA All-Star parent.
“After conversations with Tyrese Haliburton’s father, John Haliburton, and the Indiana Pacers front office, John Haliburton will not attend the team’s home and road games for the foreseeable future,” a Pacers spokesperson told ESPN’s Shams Charania. “This was a decision made by the Pacers front office, and John Haliburton was understanding and accepted the choice after confronting Giannis Antetokounmpo on the court postgame Tuesday night.”
On social media, some fans were surprised by the news, but many of them called for a more extreme punishment against John Haliburton.
“Tyrese Halliburton’s dad is lucky he wasn’t banned for life from attending NBA games,” wrote a fan on X.
With a chance to make a proper playoff run, the Pacers might be on the verge of something special, and they are not going to let anything distract their players from the mission.
“Pacers got a squad this year and don’t need any distractions moving forward,” posted a fan.
Despite his mistake, some fans defended Haliburton and called his exile an overreaction.
“Seems a little excessive. How he acted was shameful, but he was super-hyped for his kid,” read one social media post. “If it was just punishing him, I could see it, but Ty isn’t gonna be able to look up & see his Dad’s face in the crowd now. That means something, it’s punishing him too.”
As age-old rivals, we had a suspicion that the Bucks/Pacers series was going to be highly emotional, but nobody really knew how bad things would get. Throughout the series, both sides were playing with great disdain for the other, and by the end of it, they were nearly ready to throw hands.
Literally seconds after being eliminated from the playoffs, Giannis had to endure the wild scene by Haliburton in an already hostile arena. He nearly lost his cool at that moment and was chest-to-chest with John before being pulled away by teammates and coaches. It was a brutal scene, and fans could tell that Haliburton crossed a line.
After the game, Giannis Antetokounmpo condemned John’s behavior and made a public statement shaming him for a lack of respect and humility. Even Tyrese spoke out against his dad’s actions and blamed the outburst on the intensity of the moment.
To his credit, John realized his mistake right away. He apologized publicly and gave the Pacers no argument when they announced his exile from team events. Now, the man will have to watch from his home as the Indiana Pacers face the Cleveland Cavaliers in round two.
The Pacers will need everything to go right to have a chance in that series, which means they cannot afford to let anything take their eyes off the prize. With Jon sidelined for the foreseeable future, the Pacers won’t have to worry about drama after the game, and they can avoid giving their competition any more fuel in the fights to come.
