NBA
Tyrese Haliburton invites fan who was harassed by Knicks fans to Pacers’ conference finals
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All posts by Antonio KozlowUpdated59 mins ago on May 19, 2025
This weekend, a Pacers fan was heckled by Knicks fans for using a Tyrese Haliburton jersey on the streets of Manhattan and was caught on video. The images immediately went viral, and the star guard has decided to invite him to Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals in Indianapolis.
The Pat McAfee Show didn’t waste any time and invited the fan Hans Perez to the show on Monday afternoon. He revealed that he worked as a firefighter and has followed the Pacers all his life, showing off one of his tattoos on his wrist. Haliburton then surprised him with the good news.
“Everybody in our organization wants to make sure you’re taking care of,” Tyrese himself said on a video call from Indianapolis after the squad’s training session on Monday. “All the team’s excited to meet you. It’s all we’ve been talking about.”
Perez was followed through the streets of New York City by a large mob of Knicks fans, who were commemorating their club’s first trip to the conference finals in almost 25 years. The Indiana fan walked away from confrontation after getting hit twice with garbage bags.
This is why both Haliburton and McAfee expressed themselves publicly over his situation, inviting him along with a guest to Game 4 of the series set for next Tuesday. “I’m pretty sure we can work something out,” Perez showed his appreciation and said he would need to get a day off from work.
Tyrese himself has been dealing with pressure from away fans, as recently he’s been playing through rival crowds chanting ‘overrated’ during matches. In Game 3 against the Cavs, he shut the oof with a buzzer-beater. “I’ve been waiting for that, man. It was just right in the moment. I’ll take that fine gladly,” he said.
Haliburton said he had no problem with being taunted by the audience. “That one was unexpected. I didn’t know we had beef. I think now that that label is there, it’s going to be that every time we play somebody on the road. It’ll probably follow me until the next poll comes out. Overrate that,” he expressed.
