Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton accused a fan of hurling a racial slur at his younger brother during a playoff game against the Milwaukee Bucks.
On Tuesday (April 23), Haliburton said his brother was called the N-word during Game 1 of the Pacers' Eastern Conference playoff series with the Bucks, per NBC News.
The Pacers guard called out the fan after his team beat the Bucks 125-108 in Game 2.
“My little brother in the stands the other day was called an N-word,” Haliburton said following Tuesday's win. “It was important for us as a family to just address that. That was important for us to talk about because that didn’t sit right with anybody in our family. It’s just been important to have my family here right now, and my little brother’s handled that the right way.”
The Bucks also addressed the incident on Tuesday.
“An arena guest services representative reported that during Sunday’s game a few guests were not sitting in their correct seats,” a Bucks spokesman said. “The guest services representative asked the group to move one section over to their correct seats. 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."
“We take our fan environment extremely seriously and are committed to providing a safe and secure experience," the spokesperson added.
The Bucks and Pacers are set to face off in Game 3 on Friday (April 26) in Indianapolis.
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