News / Society

NYPD breaks leg of NBA player Thabo Sefolosha

Saturday, 11 April 2015 4:51 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 11 April 2015 4:52 PM ]

Thabo Sefolosha, a forward for the Atlanta Hawks, suffered a broken leg during an altercation with NYPD officers on Wednesday.

The New York Police Department has broken the leg of a player with the National Basketball Association, making him unable to play for the rest of the basketball season, according to several media reports.

Thabo Sefolosha, a forward for the Atlanta Hawks, and his teammate, Pero Antic, were present at the scene of an altercation between Indiana Pacers player Chris Copeland and a stranger outside a New York City nightclub on Wednesday.

Sefolosha and Antic allegedly refused to “clear the area” when they were instructed to do so by NYPD officers.

A scuffle broke out between Sefolosha, a Swiss national, and six police officers. One officer grabbed the NBA player by the throat while two others took him to the ground. The 6’7” basketball player suffered a fractured tibia during the altercation.

Both players were then taken into custody on charges of resisting arrest and obstructing government administration.

“As members of the Atlanta Hawks, we hold ourselves to a high standard and take our roles as professionals very seriously. We will contest these charges and look forward to communicating the facts of the situation at the appropriate time. We apologize to our respective families, teammates, and the Hawks organization for any negative attention this incident has brought upon them. We are unable to provide further comment as this is an ongoing legal matter,” they said in a joint statement.

The incident follows a season when NBA players made statements about police brutality especially directed against African Americans.

It also happened as Atlanta Hawks are expected to enter the playoffs with the best record among the 15 teams of the Eastern Conference.

Police treatment of African Americans and other minorities has become a big issue in the United States over the past year, with police killings of Michael Brown, in Ferguson, and Eric Garner, in New York City, sparking mass protests across the country.

A newly released video shows a white police officer fatally shoot an unarmed mentally ill African-American man in Florida in February. The family of the victim, Lavall Hall, released the footage captured from within a police car on Wednesday.

HRJ/HRJ

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