Pacers-Bucks game; Tyrese Haliburton says racial slur used toward brother

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Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers walks backcourt during game two of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum on April 23, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

MILWAUKEE - A not-so-happy homecoming; an Indiana Pacers star said someone called his younger brother a racial slur during Sunday, April 21’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum.

Just after a Game 2 win, Tuesday, April 23 in Milwaukee, a reporter asked Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton about managing distractions during playoff basketball in the state he grew up in.

That’s when the former Oshkosh North standout revealed his brother was harassed verbally.

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"My little brother, in the stands the other day was, you know, called the N-word. And so, like, it was important for us as a family to just address that, and that was important for us to talk about, because that didn't sit right with anyone in our family," he said.

He credited his brother with handling it the right way.

FOX6 News reached out to the Bucks for comment. A team spokesperson wrote back, saying:

"An arena guest services representative reported that during Sunday’s game 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. 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."

While Haliburton said the Badger State homecoming changes this time of year.

"[...] the conversation, it's friendly during the regular season, 'cause I'm the hometown kid, but it's a little different when you're visiting in this environment," he said.

FOX6 News talked to fans about the incident on Wednesday, April 24. None felt comfortable talking on camera, but the overall feeling they shared was that it was unacceptable and not representative of the fan base as a whole.