What Caused Tyrese Haliburton's Father to be Indefinitely Banned By Indiana Pacers?

Tyrese Haliburton's father John Haliburton has been under the scrutiny within the hoops community lately. During the Game 5 matchup between the Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks' first round series on Tuesday, Papa Haliburton had a serious verbal altercation with Giannis Antetokounmpo, which the Greek star referred to as a ‘disrespectful’ exchange on the floor.

ESPN's Shams Charania reports that Tyrese Haliburton's father has been banned by the Pacers front office and will not be attending any of the Pacers' home or road games for the foreseeable future. This decision was made following the unfortunate incident during Tuesday's playoff matchup, which Haliburton was understanding and accepting of. Here is how the entire incident spanned out into this irreconcilable mess that Papa Haliburton now regrets and is apologetic for.

Tyrese Haliburton's Father Banned By Indiana Pacers Front Office

On Tuesday, Tyrese Haliburton's father John Haliburton was celebrating the Pacers eliminating the Bucks out of the playoffs after his son's clutch layup with 1.3 seconds left in overtime. However, as per Giannis Antetokounmpo, John Haliburton apparently walked towards him waving a towel while swearing at him. The Bucks star deemed this interaction as extremely ‘disrespectful’ and demeaning to the spirit of sports.

In a statement after the game, Antetokounmpo said, "I believe in being humble in victory. A lot of people out there that are like, no, when you win the game, you talk s**t and it's a green light for you to be disrespectful towards somebody else. I disagree."

John Haliburton has issued an apology through his social media, taking accountability for his actions which were “not a good reflection” on the sport or his son's career.

In fact, even Tyrese Haliburton had no clue about such an incident taking place right after the game until he reached the locker room. However, the Pacers star did agree that his father was in the wrong and went out of line with his actions.

As the Pacers advance to the second round, they will be facing the Cleveland Cavaliers for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals on Sunday.