Tyrese Haliburton has been acing the game during the playoff season. Yet, his father had no access to watch his son at home or in an away arena. John Haliburton was suspended because of his altercation with Giannis Antetokounmpo during round 1 of the playoffs. The suspension was revoked before Game 4 of the ECF, so one may ask what could be more brutal than a father not allowed to watch his son. Well, we will have to go back 20 years in the history book to revisit the event.
Another Eastern Conference showdown, once again Pacers team was part of it. But it was way brutal with fights, court orders, suspensions, and many more. Yes, we are talking about The Malice at the Palace, which started a brawl unlike any other. It started with a small bust between the Pistons and the Pacers players and escalated when a fan threw a drink on then-Indiana player, Ron Artest aka Metta World Peace. And all hell broke loose!
Artest dashed to the seats where he thought the drink came from and punched the fans. His teammate Stephen Jackson followed him and got into a fistfight with Pistons fans, too. Then both sets of players got involved as well. Police had to step in to separate the players and fans, and in total NBA handed out 141 games’ worth of suspensions to players on both teams. Then commissioner, David Stern, suspended 9 players ranging from 1 game to a season-ending ban.
It was Metta World Peace who received the harshest penalty of 86 games (13 including the playoffs). Recalling that event recently, the Lakers legend discussed it in context to Tyrese Haliburton’s father’s case. “Well, I mean, as a player who was in a situation similar to fans coming on the floor, like the court is really sacred, right? It’s so sacred to the players, you know, and I think sometimes we can forget that. And so even though I’m a Pacers fan, I was at that game, so he as a Pacers fan, and then I became like a protector of Giannis.”
Artest condemned the action in the court by John Haliburton. The 04 DPOY also supported that father Haliburton should be back before game 4. “But you got to understand that the floor is for the players, and nothing is more important than that. I don’t think he did anything that bad to keep him out of the playoffs. Hopefully, he gets a chance to come back,” he said on the podcast Casuals with Katie Nolan. Let’s look at what really transpired that led to John’s suspension.
Tyrese Haliburton’s father’s showdown with Giannis Antetokounmpo
Even though John was back, his seats were not courtside, but in a suite at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. He missed eight straight games due to a ban. During the process, the Pacers qualified for the conference finals for the first time since 2000. It was the celebration after his son’s team dispatched the Bucks that led to the ban. Giannis Antetokounmpo felt“disrespected” after this incident, but added they have talked and “I think we’re in a good place.”
As per the Greek Freak, Haliburton’s father was celebrating with the towel in his face. To add more salt, John uttered, “This is what we do. This is what the f*** we do.“Later, Tyrese Haliburton’s father also issued an apology on social media and said, “I sincerely apologize to Giannis, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Pacers organization for my actions following tonight’s game. This was not a good reflection on our sport or my son and I will not make that mistake again.”
In order to totally avoid the mistake, the suspension was levied. But with ‘Pops’ back, Tyrese Haliburton showed out with 32 points, 12 rebounds, and 15 assists. It also helped the Pacers, as now they are one win away from the NBA finals. Because of the strong rules after The Malice at the Palace, no fans and players think about growing extreme. Since the Indy dream of winning was stopped that season, the Pacers truly have the chance to win it this time.
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