The Indiana Pacers are moving on to the Eastern Conference Finals, and they are doing it while embracing one of the controversies surrounding their playoff run.
In an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” Wednesday, Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton revealed that his teammates had chanted “free Pops” about his father. John Haliburton has not been attending Pacers playoff games since an on-court incident with Giannis Antetokounmpo following the team’s first-round series win.
“I think he’s enjoying watching from the house. They had a little watch party at my house last night,” Tyrese Haliburton said. “I called him after the game. The whole locker room got on the phone with him. Everybody was like ‘free Pops’ until it’s backwards.
“The league left it open. They said foreseeable future. I don’t know what that means, but we’ll see what ends up happening. I’m sure he would love to get back in the building. He would probably get an ovation.”
"I think my dad is enjoying watching the games from the house..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 14, 2025
I called him after the game and the whole team got on the phone..
Everybody was like free pops until it's backwards"
😂😂 @TyHaliburton22 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/Nz266JbSyn
John Haliburton and the Pacers made a mutual decision to have him stay away from playoff games for the time being. In addition to his incident with Antetokounmpo, he reportedly got into it with a fan during a playoff game.
It remains to be seen if Haliburton’s father will be welcomed back for any playoff games. Clearly, the players would like to see him, meaning someone will have some decisions to make for the Eastern Conference Finals.
