Pacers Star Tyrese Haliburton Says His Brother Was Called Racial Slur During a Playoff Game
The 24-year-old player is making his first career playoff appearance with the Indiana team and had family members in attendance at their first game against the Milwaukee Bucks
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty
Tyrese HaliburtonIndiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton says his brother was called a racial slur during a playoff game in Milwaukee
The incident occurred when "a few guests were not sitting in their correct seats,” a Bucks spokesperson said
Following two games, the first-round series is now tied 1-1
Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton is speaking out after a family member was allegedly called a racial slur during game no. 1 of his team's first-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday, April 21.
"My little brother in the stands the other day was called the N-word," Haliburton said days later during a press conference following their second game on Tuesday, April 23, per ESPN. "It was important for us as a family to just address that.”
He continued, “And that was important for us to talk about because that just didn't sit right with anybody in our family. It's just been important to have my family here right now. My little brother has handled that the right way."
Per ESPN, the 24-year-old Wisconsin native — who grew up in Oshkosh, about 90 miles north of Milwaukee — had family members in attendance for the game, which marked his first career playoff appearance.
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According to the outlet, a Bucks spokesperson said the alleged incident occurred when “a few guests were not sitting in their correct seats.”
"The guest services representative asked the group to move one section over to their correct seats,” the spokesperson said. “Then, one of the individuals in the group claimed to the representative that a person sitting in front of him had used a derogatory term toward him. The accused person denied the accusation. The group moved to their correct seats and no further incident was reported.”
The spokesman added, "We take our fan environment extremely seriously and are committed to providing a safe and secure experience."
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As far as Haliburton is concerned, he felt the Pacers had done “a good job of handling” the unfriendly environment.
"The conversation [in the stands], it's friendly during the regular season because I'm the hometown kid, but it's a little different when you're visiting in this environment," he said.
After evening up the series 1-1 on Tuesday, the Pacers now look to seize home-court advantage when the series shifts to Indiana for game no. 3 on Friday, April 26.
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