Tyrese Haliburton's Dad Reportedly Subject of Complaints to NBA, Stephen A. Smith Says

The confrontation between Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo and Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton's father after Tuesday's Game 5 reportedly wasn't the first time that the elder statesman stepped out of line.

During Wednesday's episode of First Take, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith reported that John Haliburton has been the subject of complaints to the NBA for quite some time now (6:30 mark of video below).

"Agents have complained about him. Other players have complained to the league about him," Smith said. "Call the league office. They have complained about him."

After Tyrese Haliburton's game-winning layup in the Pacers' 119-118 overtime win over the Bucks to close out the first-round playoff series 4-1, John Haliburton approached Antetokounmpo on the court to brag about the victory. Antetokounmpo responded in kind and exchanged words with John Haliburton in a video that immediately went viral on social media.

In the aftermath, Antetokounmpo criticized the elder Haliburton for being "disrespectful" in his celebration. Tyrese Haliburton also made it clear that he didn't condone his father's actions, saying, "I don't think my pops was in the right at all there." John Haliburton tweeted an apology to Antetokounmpo as well:

Smith explained that John Haliburton is no stranger to overstepping his bounds, whether he's defending his son to the media or otherwise.

"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," Smith said. "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 got to take that."

Smith went on to add that while John Haliburton's passion for the game is unquestioned, he needs to understand when he crosses the line.

"He is one of those individuals, no matter how much of a great man he may be, and unquestionably a great father who dearly loves his son," Smith said. "Because of that, there is an extra level of bravado he has exercised where I spoke to the legal office this morning. You've had some people. They've heard a lot about some of the things that he has said to players and others. Agents have called complaining about him."