Stephen A. Smith had some strong words for Tyrese Haliburton's father following a postgame incident with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Smith suggested the NBA fine John Haliburton and revealed that players and agents have previously complained to the NBA league office about the Pacers guard's father.

On Wednesday's episode of First Take Smith said that this should go down as one of the most embarrassing moments of John Haliburton's life and that the team can't be the one to punish him. Smith suggested the league should step in and do something.

"Mr. Haliburton, I don't know him. I've met him once or twice," said Smith. "Obviously he's a passionate fan of his son and obviously he's an incredibly supportive father, but I think that this should go down as one of the most embarrassing moments of his life."

Smith then said that Shaq was completely wrong and sided with Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley regarding Inside the NBA's discussion of the incident.

"I think that Mr. Haliburton needs to understand, this is a very, very big deal," Smith continued. "Your son sat on a podium in front of the media with the national television cameras rolling and said my dad was wrong. You have any idea how egregious that is? The son is having to check the father."

Later in the conversation he revealed that this kind of thing is what Halitburon's father is known for around the league. It's just that this time it happened on the court.

"But Windy, you left something out," Smith said. "Everybody in the league knows he talks a lot of smack about his son. All the time. Everybody in the league knows that most times it's unsolicited. A lot of times he's not clapping back at people who said something about his son. He's clapping at people about his son who never talked about his son. Who never said a negative word about his son. So we've gotta take that... Agents have complained about him. Other players have complained to the league about him. Call the league office. They have complained about him."

The Pacers next game will be in Cleveland. It will be interesting to see where Haliburton's seat is located. Though it seems unlikely the Pacers are thrilled that the seating arrangements of their traveling party is one of the biggest stories heading into the series.


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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Stephen A. Smith Blasts Tyrese Haliburton’s Dad Over ‘Embarrassing’ Giannis Clash.

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