John Haliburton, the father of NBA star Tyrese Haliburton, gave his side of the story after getting into a heated confrontation with Giannis Antetokounmpo after the Pacers defeated the Bucks on Tuesday to advance in the NBA Playoffs.
Haliburton admitted during an interview with TMJ4 in Milwaukee that his decision to go onto the court was wrong, but said that the entire interaction with Antetokounmpo was due to a misunderstanding while he was caught up celebrating his son’s win.
He seemingly confirmed what Antetokounmpo said the previous night about the incident — that the elder Haliburton started waving a banner with Tyrese’s face on it in front of the Bucks star.
“Going out on the court, that was wrong,” Haliburton told the outlet. “I should have found a way to restrain myself, but I was in the moment.”
But Haliburton insisted he wasn’t trying to stare down Antetokounmpo and that a security guard put his hands on him.
Antetokounmpo and Haliburton were seen engaging in a conversation again moments later, where the latter explained that Antetokounmpo told him never “f–king disrespect me again.”
“When I was off the court, [Antetokounmpo] put his hands on me. I’m not saying that he did it in a hostile way,” Haliburton said. “He reached out, he grabbed my hands. He put his forehead on my forehead, and he proceeded to say what he said to me, and that was, ‘Don’t you ever f–king disrespect me again.’ ”
Both Haliburton and Antetokounmpo have said that they were in a good place after the conversation and Haliburton said that they had ended the chat telling each other “I love you.”
Antetokounmpo was seen patting his chest and giving a thumbs-up in the direction of Haliburton as he walked away.
Speaking with reporters following the series-ending loss, Antetokounmpo said that felt that Haliburton’s action was “very disrespectful,” while also saying that the NBA player’s father was waving the towel and yelling, “this is what we f–king do.”
“Having somebody’s dad, which I’m happy for him and 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 and cursing I think it’s totally unacceptable. … It’s not respectful,” he said.
Haliburton denied saying the taunt during the interview on Wednesday.
The Pacers advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs to face the Cavaliers, while the Bucks have some big questions in the offseason, including surrounding Antetokounmpo’s future in Milwaukee.
