ESPN celebrity calls on NBA to punish Pacers Halliburton s father

ESPN analyst talks about the confrontation between Tyres Halliburton and Giannis Antetokounmpo

Indiana Pacers guard Tyres Halliburton's father, John Halliburton, ran to the court after Game 5 to taunt Milwaukee Bucks All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo, and ESPN's Ryan Clark said the father should be suspended. A few seconds after the final whistle, footage of Halliburton confronting Antetokounmpo showed no one around to prevent the Pacers defender's father from approaching Antetokounmpo.

According to ESPN's "Get Up" program, Clark said that what happened after the Pacers won overtime is a bad manifestation of the NBA's protection of players.

"You should protect your players. Everything in the NFL is about the shield, and part of that shield is the players on the court," Clark said. "This is Giannis Antetokounmpo, this is the Finals MVP, this is the league MVP, this is the player who can be inducted into the Hall of Fame in the first round. John Halliburton ran on the court, just like the old Philadelphia boy Gillie Da Kidd. This is absolutely impossible, Antetokounmpo is such a person, worthy of praise."

Clark's mind lingered in his mind the scene of Antetokounmpo and John Halliburton colliding face to face.

"I know a lot of rugby players, and when they face to face, the first thing I think of is hitting people with my head," Clark added. "Yes, because if you allow other people to enter the court, if you allow fans to face-to-face with players, then players should protect themselves from being influenced by fans and others. I don't think he should be allowed to appear in any basketball game."

NBA has a fan code of conduct that stipulates that once a fan step onto the court, fans will be expelled from the court. After the game, Antetokounmpo said Halliburton's approach made him feel disrespectful.

"I like Tyres. He's a great contender. (His dad) walked to the sidelines and showed me his son's towel and said, 'This is what we should do. This is what we should do. This is what we should do.' I think it's very, very disrespectful," Antetokounmpo said. After the Pacers' victory, the father of Toryes Halliburton apologized

Pacers guard Toryes Halliburton apologized to Bucks player Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks management and Pacers management for his actions. Halliburton's father apologized on his X (formerly Twitter).

"I sincerely apologize to Giannis, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Pacers management for my actions after the game tonight. It has had a bad impact on our sport or my son and I wouldn't have made the same mistake again," he wrote.

Antetokounmpo has not responded to this apology.