Tyrese Haliburton felt compelled to act after seeing the video of an Indiana Pacers fan in enemy territory over the weekend.
Video went viral of a fan wearing a Haliburton-Pacers jersey out in the streets of New York following the New York Knicks’ second-round playoff victory over the Boston Celtics on Friday night. The fan had various objects thrown at him and was chased away by a large group of Knicks fans.
You can see that viral clip here.
On Monday, the Pacers star Haliburton appeared on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show.” During the appearance, Haliburton revealed that he was planning a nice gesture for the Pacers fan seen in the video.
The fan, identified as firefighter Hans Perez, also appeared via video chat on “The Pat McAfee Show.” Haliburton told Perez live on the air that he would be flying Perez and a guest out to see Pacers-Knicks Game 4 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind.
“I personally wanna bring you and a plus one out to Indiana for game four..
Everybody in our organization wants to make sure that you’re taken care of” ~ @TyHaliburton22 #PMSLive https://t.co/QN7dTplbIw pic.twitter.com/B8y1iqVO02
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 19, 2025
On the one hand, some would say that Perez was asking for trouble by wearing a Haliburton jersey to the Knicks fans’ street celebrations immediately after the series win over the Celtics. He had to have known that the jersey would incite a big-time negative reaction from the crowd and was perhaps looking to stir the pot that night.
But on the other hand, others might commend Perez’s commitment to representing his team despite being in such a hostile environment. Haliburton clearly falls in the latter category and is furthering his reputation as one of the most likable stars in the NBA playoffs this year with the cool gesture for Perez.
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