INDIANAPOLIS — Less than an hour after he wrapped his arms around his son in the midst of one of the most meaningful, euphoric moments of his basketball life, John Haliburton got a phone call from the same son to tell him he was in the wrong.
And John couldn’t dispute a word Tyrese Haliburton said.
“He called me like he should have,” John told IndyStar on Wednesday. “He let me know, ‘Dad, what you did was not OK.’ And I told him he’s absolutely right. He understood that it was a father moment. He knew that it was a passionate moment.”
That moment was after Tyrese had just helped the Pacers finish off the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of their NBA Eastern Conference playoff series with a string of remarkable plays. The two-time All-Star point guard scored the Pacers’ last six points to force overtime, then scored their last five points in overtime including a game-winning layup with 1.3 seconds to go in a 119-118 Game 5 victory that gave them a 4-1 series win and sends them on to the Eastern Conference semifinals against the No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers.
But in the midst of that passion, before Tyrese came to the baseline courtside seats where John always sits to hug him, John went well out on to the court holding a flag with Tyrese’s face on it. During that period he turned to Bucks two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and shouted in his direction, though there is some dispute about what he said. After hugging Tyrese after the game, Antetokounmpo literally butted heads with John and told him he felt disrespected. The two men were separated, although Antetokounmpo walked away and flashed John a thumbs up.
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Antetokounmpo said in his news conference afterward he considered John’s actions “very disrespectful” and “completely unacceptable.” Tyrese Haliburton told reporters in his postgame news conference he’d already spoken with John about it.
“I don’t agree with what transpired there from him,” Tyrese said. “I think basketball is basketball and let’s keep it on the court. I think he just got excited, saw his son make a game-winner and came on the court. We had a conversation. He needs to just allow me to play basketball and stay over there, I’ll come to him to celebrate.”
John acknowledged that by coming on to the floor, he crossed a line that he should not have crossed.
“It was in the moment,” John said. “It was in that dad proud moment. You know what I mean? And I just reacted because my son, he just did something very incredible, and I just jumped. … Am I sorry for being proud of my son? No. No. I’m not going to tell you that because I’d be lying. But I was wrong for going on the basketball court, because I shouldn’t have ever done that. Do I apologize for going on the court? Yes I do.”
John did dispute part of Antetokounmpo’s account, however. Antetokounmpo said while John was waving the flag with his son’s picture on it he was shouting “‘This is what we do! This is what we (expletive) do! This is what (expletive) we do!'” The expletive in question was the F-word. Though Tyrese has been known to use that term from time-to-time in games and even in the occasional interview or news conference, John said he’s deeply opposed to its use and the use of any other curse words.
“I never swore at him,” John said. “Absolutely never. I don’t swear. Everybody who knows me knows that I don’t swear. I can’t stand it. It’s on record that I say things to my son when he swears on the basketball court because kids are watching him. I don’t do that. I don’t believe in it.”
John also noted even though he went on the court, he never initiated physical contact with Antetokounmpo. while Antetokounmpo sought him out and started the conversation by grabbing his hand and putting his head on his. However, he said their conversation was brief and they were able to diffuse the issue quickly.
“He came and he put his head on my head and we held hands and he said to me, ‘Don’t you ever disrespect me like that again,'” John said. “I said. ‘It was not my intention to disrespect you. I love you.’ And if you watch the video, he said the same thing, ‘I love you.’ We gave the thumbs up and he walked away. That was it.”
Of course that wasn’t exactly it because the confrontation immediately became a nationally trending topic and made its way through the studio shows Tuesday night and the debate shows on Wednesday morning. It drew heated discussion on TNT’s Inside The NBA after Game 5 of the Nuggets-Clippers series with Shaquille O’Neal oddly taking the position that John wasn’t that much in the wrong while Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley both noted their affinity for John while saying that he clearly crossed the line.
John did take issue with some of the comments of ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith on “First Take” on Wednesday morning. Smith said John should be ashamed and embarrassed and noted it was “egregious” that Tyrese had to talk to the media in front of national television cameras and say his father was wrong.
“He’s trying to make it a point that my son chastised me,” John said. “No he did not. My son was concerned about me. That’s why he called me, because he knew that social media was going to blow up on this. He wanted to let me know that he understood that it was a passionate moment but I shouldn’t have been on the floor. And he’s absolutely right. … I raised my kids that way. Wrong is wrong. Right is right. Just because I’m his dad, you think he can’t tell me that I was wrong? He can. He has a right to do that. I want him to do that. So he did what he was supposed to do. It wasn’t hard.”
Still, John also knew it wasn’t an easy situation to be in. He said he’s already been in contact with the Pacers to apologize.
“I talked to the Pacers organization,” John said. “They know me. They know I’m not like that, and I let them know that won’t happen again. It was in the moment. They get it. We’re moving on.”
That’s not to say that John won’t still be passionate. He and Tyrese are extremely close and he’s worked hard to help get him to this level. He just had to realize the lines on the floor are lines he can’t cross.
“I’m a proud man that my son is in the NBA, a grateful man and a thankful man,” John said. “I just got caught up in the moment.”
