Earlier in April of this year Thabo Sefolosha’s season came to an end. Hawks fans all over were at a loss for words as one of their top defenders had his season end due to an off the court issue.
The Chris Copeland stabbing incident was tied to Thabo Sefolosha on the same night because in a matter of minutes, Copeland was stabbed, Sefolosha’s leg was shattered and there was a huge case coming to the NYPD involving Thabo, Chris and former Hawks forward Pero Antic.
The following is from the AP courtesy of NBC Sports when the trial opened on Tuesday.
A jury of four women and two men was picked Monday in Manhattan Criminal Court. Opening statements start Tuesday.
The case stems from an early-morning struggle outside the 1Oak Club in Chelsea shortly after the stabbing of Indiana Pacers forward Chris Copeland, his girlfriend and another woman. It was then that the 30-year-old guard-forward ignored six separate orders to move away from the crime scene, charged at another officer and then flailed his arms and twisted his legs while being placed under arrest, according to a criminal complaint.
During jury selection, Spiro said that while his client, a Swiss national, may have been “mouthy” and “fresh” in his dealings with officers after the stabbing, no crime had been committed. He also suggested race played a role in his client’s arrest.
“Are you all willing to understand that we’re all swayed at some level by implicit racial biases,” he asked potential jurors.
Following from the AP courtesy of NBC.
A professional basketball player was about to give a handout to a man asking for money when police officers took him to the ground and arrested him, a former teammate testified Wednesday.
Ex-Atlanta Hawks power forward Pero Antic said he was sitting in an Uber car with the door open near a trendy Manhattan nightclub in the early hours of April 8 when he heard officers arguing with guard-forward Thabo Sefolosha as he tried to give a beggar money.
“They didn’t allow him to give the money,” said Antic, who was also arrested after he climbed out of the car and touched an officer’s shoulder while asking why his friend was being placed under arrest. “The police officers arrested him before he got to.”
And more from the AP on Sefolosha’s representation saying the officers were targeting black men.
A lawyer representing a professional basketball player arrested outside a New York City nightclub has told a jury his client was targeted because he’s black.
Attorney Alex Spiro said Tuesday in Manhattan Criminal Court that a white police officer saw a black man in a hoodie when he confronted the Atlanta Hawks’ Thabo Sefolosha on April 8.
This trial is getting a little too personal and close for comfort. Hopefully all can be resolved soon but from the looks of it and from Thabo pleading ‘not guilty’ to all charges, this trial could go on for a very long time.
