Tyrese Haliburton’s Little Brother’s Heckler Going Unpunished Raises Eyebrows On NBA’s Security Measures

The Indiana Pacers took a commanding win over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 2 and tied the series at Fiserv Forum. The Bucks were once again without superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, but Pascal Siakam got cooking early. Yet, the 125-108 victory didn’t make Indiana’s star, Tyrese Haliburton particularly happy.

Hailing from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, anybody would think that the young guard would be happy to play in front of his home crowd, although he was on the opposing team. And he was. But the joy was smeared by a disappointing incident that happened in the team’s Game 1 loss. Haliburton’s little brother was in the stands for that game, and he was called a racist slur by a Bucks fan: “My little brother in the stands the other day was called the N-word.”

Of course, racism is still a very prevalent issue all over the world. However, the NBA has strict rules and regulations for these cases. The league doesn’t tolerate any kind of intolerable behavior from or towards its players, coaches, personnel, or even other fans. In this scenario, though, the incident happened in the Fiserv Forum, according to Pacers’ beat writer, Dustin Dopirak, no action was taken.

“Per league source, building security was notified of the incident involving Tyrese’s brother, but the fan was not removed from the game.”

This is not a lone incident, of course. From NBA legend LeBron James to Marcus Smart, there have been way too many occurrences of such derogatory comments.

Controversies in the NBA beyond Tyrese Haliburton’s case

In 2022, the NBA suspended the Phoenix Suns’ former owner, Robert Sarver, for an entire year with a fine of $10 million for workplace harassment, most notably using racist slurs. The league had transferred the investigation to a private agency. And according to their findings, Sarver had used the N-word on at least five occasions. This issue came to the attention of the NBA after an ESPN article alleged misconduct on behalf of the American businessman.

Go back one year and you might remember when Marcus Smart spoke about racist comments from Boston fans. Of course, the circumstance was the Celtics fans’ hatred for Kyrie Irving. Whenever he played in Boston, fans would shout out immoral words or subtle digs. Moreover, Smart even admitted to having heard some of them himself. And although he was on the home team, it was still “sad and sickening.”

Perhaps one incident that still many would remember is one involving the King himself. In 2017, the front gate of Bron’s LA home was spray-painted with racist graffiti. At the time, he said, “No matter how much money you have, no matter how famous you are, no matter how many people admire you, being black in America is tough.” 

A statement many would identify with, even now. What are your thoughts on Tyrese Haliburton’s brother’s recent encounter? Let us know below.