Hawks' Sefolosha upbeat on start of season
NEW YORK — Thabo Sefolosha says he is looking forward to focusing on basketball again with the Atlanta Hawks.
Sefolosha, since his arrest by police in New York City during an April 8 incident outside a nightclub that left him with a broken leg and ligament damage to his ankle, said it’s been hard moving past the episode.
“Of course, (being back in New York) reminds me of that night but at the same time it has been six months and I have been thinking about it almost daily,” Sefolosha said to reporters before the Hawks played the New York Knicks. “Being in New York or not in New York is almost the same thing for me. I am not fearing for my life just because I am in New York. I am OK.”
Thursday night’s game was not the first time Sefolosha returned to the city since the arrest.
Sefolosha, who was not active for the game after playing 19 minutes in the season opener, attended a trial that acquitted him of the charges related to the arrest. Sefolosha has since decided to file a civil lawsuit against the city of New York, the NYPD and the officers who arrested him.
“After talking to my family, my agents, we decided that all this has put my career in possible jeopardy,” Sefolosha said of his reasoning for the lawsuit. “In light of all of this, I think it is the right thing to do to file a suit.”
Sefolosha said he felt his platform as an NBA player could hopefully bring attention to and spark some change with interaction between law enforcement authorities and civilians in light of other events around the country.
“I think police have a tough job,” Sefolosha said. “And they have big responsibility with the job. I don’t think it would be fair to knock down the police’s job. But at the same time they have to be held accountable and be smart about how to interact with people.”
Sefolosha said his incident helped sparked discussion about police training and that it was a “good starting point.”
“Fear is probably a big aspect of their job and at the same time that doesn’t allow them to respond in any kind of way,” he said.
In a recent interview with GQ magazine, Sefolosha went into detail about what happened during his arrest.
“One officer pulled me from my right arm, another grabbed me on my left, and another grabbed me on the back of my neck,” he said in the magazine article. “I’m in, like, an on-a-cross type of position. I couldn’t even move. It was just chaos. I had never been arrested before. I understood a little bit late that they were trying to put me on the ground, but if somebody grabs your arms and pulls you on your neck, you fall face first.
“Somebody kicked my leg, more than once, from the back to force me to the ground. I knew something had happened as soon as they did it; I’m an athlete, so I know how my body should feel. They were stepping on my foot, too, I guess to try to keep me there. I didn’t feel like there was anything I could do to calm it down. I tried to show them I was cooperating. I tried.”
Sefolosha, who said his ankle is still tight after playing, was in New York City when former tennis star James Blake was violently arrested in a case of mistaken identity in early September at a New York hotel.
“I wasn’t shocked but I was definitely surprised,” said Sefolosha, who said he was in the city at that time for legal matters related to his case. “I think it is terrible that something like this keeps happening. I was happy that he was able to speak out and speak his mind on what happened and raise awareness.”
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