John Haliburton agreed to stay home for the “foreseeable future” and will not attend games in the playoffs after the dad of Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton was involved in an on-court confrontation with Giannis Antetokounmpo.
ESPN reported the Pacers levied the decision and the elder Haliburton accepted. The Indianapolis Star reported “the situation could remain the same throughout the remainder of playoffs, but no conversations have been had regarding games beyond that.”
Indiana opens the Eastern Conference semifinals at Cleveland on Sunday. The Cavs are not, however, planning to hand out seats printed with the phrase “Control Your Dad” as had been reported. The images and report were false, but the existence of such publicity underscores a reason the Pacers might request their All-Star point guard’s father not sit courtside for the high-visibility series.
Tyrese Haliburton made a driving layup with 1.3 seconds left to give the Pacers the game and series victory over Milwaukee in Game 5 on Tuesday.
John Haliburton has seats on the baseline for games played in Indiana. After the game-winner, he approached Antetokounmpo after they had a verbal exchange from longer distance, waving a flag with his son’s name and number.
Antetokounmpo said he found the words and actions disrespectful. Both Haliburton family members issued apologies.
