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Jamal Collier, ESPN
MILWAUKEE — Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said his younger brother was called the N-word by a fan while sitting in the stands during Game 1 of Indiana's first-round playoff series with the Bucks in Milwaukee.
Haliburton discussed the incident during his postgame news conference following the Pacers' 125-108 Game 2 win on Tuesday night.
“My little brother was in the stands that day being called the N-word,” Haliburton said. “It was important for us as a family to address that. It was important for us to talk about it because that wasn't right for anyone in our family. It was important for my family to be here now. Little brother handled that the right way.”
Haliburton was born about 90 miles from Milwaukee in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He has three brothers (two older and one younger) and said his immediate family was in town with him for the start of the playoffs. This is his first playoff appearance in his home state.
When asked a question about his experience returning to Wisconsin for the start of the series, Haliburton paused for several seconds before starting to answer. He was shaking his head as he started to answer about how good his family was attending before he stopped himself and brought up the racial slur.
The Bucks were asked about Haliburton's comments after Tuesday's game.
A Bucks spokesperson responded: “The stadium's guest services representative reported that during Sunday's game there were a small number of guests not seated in their correct seats.” “The guest services representative asked the group to move one section to their correct seats, then a member of the group claimed to the representative that one of the people sitting in front of him had used insulting language towards him. The accused group denied the accusation and moved to their correct seats and no further incident was reported.
“We take our fan environment seriously and are committed to providing a safe and secure experience.”
Halliburton said his team “did a good job navigating this environment,” adding, “The conversation [in the stands]“It's friendly during the regular season because I'm a hometown boy, but it's a little different when you visit that environment.”