Posted on 04/24/2024 12:46:36 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said his younger brother was called the N-word by a fan while sitting in the stands during Game 1 of Indiana's first-round playoff series with the Bucks in Milwaukee.
Haliburton discussed the incident during his postgame news conference that followed the Pacers' 125-108 win in Game 2 on Tuesday night.
"My little brother in the stands the other day was called the N-word," Haliburton said. "It was important for us as a family to just address that. And that was important for us to talk about because that just didn't sit right with anybody in our family. It's just been important to have my family here right now. My little brother has handled that the right way."
Haliburton was born about 90 miles from Milwaukee in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He has three brothers (two older and one younger) and said his immediate family had been in town with him for the start of the playoffs. This is his playoff debut in his home state.
When asked a question about his experience returning to Wisconsin for the start of the series, Haliburton paused for several seconds before he began to answer. He was shaking his head while starting an answer about how good it was to have his family in attendance before he stopped himself and addressed the racial slur.
The Bucks were asked about Haliburton's comments after Tuesday's game.
"An arena guest services representative reported that during Sunday's game a few guests were not sitting in their correct seats," a Bucks spokesperson responded. "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."
Haliburton said his team "did a good job of handling this environment," adding, "The conversation [in the stands], it's friendly during the regular season because I'm the hometown kid, but it's a little different when you're visiting in this environment."
Never let a word have power over you.
Let it tell about the say-er.
Let it help you make decisions about what is next for you.
But never give it power.
if that doesn’t work, cancellation and censorship will.
The details are sufficiently vague to reassure me that nothing extraordinary occurred.
But before he could make the allegation he had to turn down the rap song he was listening to where the word “nigga” was used about 4,394 times.
If true (a very BIG assumption), it must have been a white guy who said it, because if it had been a black guy who said it no one would bring it up as an issue. It’s a situational issue, so that the “Rev.” Not-so-Sharpton and other race baiters can have a shake-down payday.
“My little brother in the stands the other day was called the N-word,” Haliburton said.
Fact check: The fan was discussing the situation in Niger, where the Niger commie dictator demanded US troops leave the country. The fan did not use the forbidden NNNNNNNN-word.
“Like this one?”
I think that actually exceeded 4,394 times, but a good example never the less.
The comments for the video are comedy gold.
Been called worse by “fans” outside abortion mills. Never cried, just thanked Jesus for the opportunity to stand for Him, and their child. See you in heaven if I make it little fellas
Pick a lane folks. Either a word is offensive or it isn't. If it offensive, then it should be offensive when anyone uses it. If it was directed at him as an insult, then he has a legit gripe. If it was someone using the word in an unrelated context that did not involve him, then it was none of his business.
Odd are, this will end up being another "hate crime" hoax that cannot be proven or disproven.
Bet you he listens to rap music where that word is repeated ad nauseum.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.