Thabo Sefolosha reflects on incident with police that left him with a broken leg
During the wee hours of April 8, Atlanta Hawks guard Thabo Sefolosha went out on the town. Little did he know the outing would cut his season short due to events that led to his arrest and a fractured tibia and ligament damage.
With the Hawks having just secured the top seed in the Eastern Conference, Sefolosha and teammate Pero Antic celebrated at trendy Manhattan nightclub 1OAK. At 4 a.m., police arrived at the club after a skirmish in which Indiana Pacers forward Chris Copeland was stabbed. Copeland was admitted to hospital with a fractured elbow, punctured abdomen, and lacerated left hand.
Around the same time, Sefolosha and Antic were being detained by police. The police report stated Sefolosha was interfering with the establishment of a crime scene.
A pair of bystander videos surfaced showing that both players appeared to be more than 100 feet from the Copeland stabbing. One of the videos also showed a group of officers wrestling Sefolosha to the ground while another officer appears to be pulling out his baton.
Antic has maintained the attack on Copeland was unrelated to the incident that happened to he and his teammate.
Sefolosha recently stated that his injury was sustained while "in the hands of the police". The NBA Players' Association, led by executive director and former defense lawyer Michele Roberts, have been investigating the incident on behalf of the players.
Now, almost two months later, Sefolosha explained the negative impact the incident had on his career and personal life to Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.
Sefolosha said:
It took away a lot from my everyday life. From being able to help put the kids in bed, going up and down the stairs. We are talking about the stress that it has brought to the entire family, you know, my mom and dad in Switzerland, my brothers and sisters, my wife. Also, the damage to my reputation. I've had people texting me about what they saw in the newspaper and things like this. Every aspect of my life was affected by something like this.
When asked if being out at a club at such an hour could have been a factor in the incident, Sefolosha responded, "I think it's a fair question to ask ... I think I'm not a criminal for it. I've always been a professional guy when it comes to basketball, and I put it first. So I try to conduct myself in a professional way. But at the same time I don't think it's a crime to be out, you know, even at four in the morning."
Sefolosha underwent surgery on his broken leg in mid-April, and is expected to be ready for Atlanta's season opener, sources told RealGM's Shams Charania.
Sefolosha signed a three-year, $12-million contract with the Hawks last summer.