Atlanta Hawks Thabo Sefolosha Wrongful Arrest: Releases Statement

Back in April, Atlanta Hawks guard/forward, former Thunder player, Thabo Sefolosha, was arrested along with teammate Pero Antic by the NYPD outside of the 1 OAK nightclub, after fellow NBA player, Chris Copeland was stabbed. Sefolosha was charged for obstructing government administration, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest, and suffered a broken leg during the time of the arrest due to the aggressiveness of the police officer. He denied any wrongdoing, turned down the plea deal and was ordered to stand trial.

As reported by The New York Times, Sefolosha suffered a fractured right leg as he struggled with the police, who accused him of disobeying orders.

According to the officers, they told him to leave the area around the nightclub where Copeland was stabbed. Sefolosha testified that he had moved off the block after the impolite officer forced him to and was trying to give a beggar a $20 bill when he was grabbed by the officers and forced to the ground.

"They arrested him," Sefolosha's attorney, Alex Spiro, said in his closing argument, as per ESPN. "They broke his leg out of eyeshot or earshot of an unrelated crime scene."

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, early on Friday, Sefolosha's trial ended and he was found not guilty on all three charges and cleared of any wrongdoing. He then released a statement describing how happy he was about the final verdict. But in his statement, he mentions how he still isn't sure as to why he was forced to stand trial despite all the evidence proving his innocence.

Sefolosha also expressed his concern for other people less fortunate than him who face a similar systematic discrimination who don't have the means to defend themselves in his statement:

"It's troubling to me that with so much evidence in my support that this case would even be brought to trial and that I had to defend myself so hard to get justice. It pains me to think about all of the innocent people who aren't fortunate enough to have the resources, visibility and access to quality legal counsel that I have had."

Now, although Sefolosha's trial is finally over, his rehab for his fractured right leg is not, as reported by Huffington Post. As of right now, it remains uncertain as to whether or not Sefolosha will be able to play at the start of the regular season.

You can read the full statement in the photo below:

Statement from Hawks guard Thabo Sefolosha on court decision in NYC that has "my name cleared of any wrongdoing." pic.twitter.com/jNtgVevxFQ

— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) October 9, 2015

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