John Haliburton, the daddy of NBA star Tyrese Haliburton, gave his side of the story after entering into a heated confrontation with Giannis Antetokounmpo after the Pacers defeated the Bucks on Tuesday to advance within the NBA Playoffs.
Haliburton admitted during an interview with TMJ4 in Milwaukee that his decision to go onto the court was flawed, but said that all the interaction with Antetokounmpo was attributable to a misunderstanding while he was caught up celebrating his son’s win.
He seemingly confirmed what Antetokounmpo said the previous night in regards to the incident — that the elder Haliburton began waving a banner with Tyrese’s face on it in front of the Bucks star.
“Going out on the court, that was flawed,” Haliburton told the outlet. “I must have found a technique to restrain myself, but I used to be within the moment.”
But Haliburton insisted he wasn’t attempting 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.”
“After 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 brow on my brow, and he proceeded to say what he said to me, and that was, ‘Don’t you ever f–king disrespect me again.’ ”
Each Haliburton and Antetokounmpo have said that they were in an excellent place after the conversation and Haliburton said that they’d ended the chat telling one another “I like you.”
Antetokounmpo was seen patting his chest and giving a thumbs-up within the direction of Haliburton as he walked away.
Speaking with reporters following the series-ending loss, Antetokounmpo said that felt that Haliburton’s motion was “very disrespectful,” while also saying that the NBA player’s father was waving the towel and yelling, “that is what we f–king do.”
“Having any person’s dad, which I’m completely happy for him and completely happy for his son and I’m completely happy that he’s completely happy for his son — that’s the way you’re purported to feel. But coming to me and disrespecting and cursing I feel it’s totally unacceptable. … It’s not respectful,” he said.
Haliburton denied saying the taunt through 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 within the offseason, including surrounding Antetokounmpo’s future in Milwaukee.
