John Haliburton has always been the biggest fan of his son, Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton.
His fandom sent him overboard at the end of a 2025 NBA playoff series, when he faced Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo on the court and waved a towel baring his son’s image. Tyrese Haliburton had just capped a last-minute comeback in overtime as the Pacers clinched the series.
John Haliburton faced a lot of criticism for that, including a brief absence from Pacers playoff games, and he apologized to Antetokounmpo. Also, Tyrese Haliburton apologized for his father’s behavior.
In a new article by NBA blogger Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, the elder Haliburton said he wishes his son had handled that differently.
“When Tyrese stood up and told the media that I was wrong, I disagreed with him,” John Haliburton said. “I told him: ‘As long as I live, don’t ever tell anyone publicly that your dad is wrong. Never do that again. If you feel like I’m wrong, that is between me and you in private.’ Just like if my son does something wrong, the world will never hear it from me. He will know it because I’ll talk to him directly, but the media and the public will never know.”
Haliburton said off-court circumstances, which he did not specify, prompted his outsized reaction to the end of the series.
“There was a lot of stuff going on in the background that people didn’t know about, and I just left it alone,” he said. “Did I want that kind of media backlash? No. But did it bother me? Not at all. People on the outside don’t know me. Those who do know me understood exactly what was happening.”
Most of Robinson’s story centered on John Haliburton’s childhood, parenting style, hearing his name in a song for the first time, other parents of NBA players, staying grounded when the public spotlight is bright … and New York Knicks fans.
Fans wearing a jersey of visiting teams in the 2026 NBA playoffs often received a rude welcome on New York streets. John Haliburton recalls that happening to at least one Pacers fan last year.
“I loved the competitive energy. But some of those young Knicks fans can be incredibly disrespectful. It’s not the older generation; it’s the younger guys coming in wearing the jerseys,” he said. “You don’t have to take my word for it. Look at them now — they just won the NBA championship. You would think the city would be celebrating and having a safe, respectful, good time, but instead, they’re all over the news going crazy doing wild things.
“When we played them in the playoffs and their fans were out on the street, I didn’t care anything about their noise. But they took a Haliburton jersey and burned it. They even targeted one of their own peers who just chose to represent Tyrese, and they threw garbage on him. To me, that is totally disrespectful.”
Dustin Dopirak covers the Pacers all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Pacers Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Tyrese Haliburton shouldn’t have apologized for dad after Giannis Antetokounmpo confrontation
Reporting by Scott Horner, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Scott Horner, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
