The National Basketball Association said Saturday that it is calling for more details following the arrest earlier this week of Atlanta Hawks’ Thabo Sefolosha, which ended with the player enduring a broken ankle.
“We are working with the Hawks organization and local law enforcement to obtain more information about the circumstances surrounding Thabo’s arrest,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement.
Sefolosha will be out for the remainder of the season because of the injury, the Hawks said on Thursday. It’s a blow to the team, who clinched the top of the Southeast Division last month, as NBA playoffs start next week.
Sefolosha was arrested in the early hours of Wednesday morning while exiting a club in New York. At the same club on the same night, Indiana Pacers’ Chris Copeland was also stabbed. The Hawks were in town for a game against the Brooklyn Nets that evening. Original reports said Sefolosha, along with teammate Pero Antic, were arrested for resisting arrest and obstructing an investigation.
The NBA’s inquiry follows the subsequent release of two videos of the arrest by TMZ Sports, which have raised questions about the altercation. TMZ Sports published the second video on Friday, which shows a different angle of the arrest, as well as an officer using his baton.
Speaking to media on Friday, Antic said the video footage “speaks for itself,” and that he and Sefolosha were not involved with the incident in which Copeland was stabbed.
“We didn’t have anything to do with what happened with that. We weren’t together. We didn’t see the guy. Whatever happened, happened way before,” Antic said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The National Basketball Players Association also voiced concerns about the incident and said it will continue to be involved.
“The union was fully engaged in supporting all three players in court and in the precinct this week, and will continue to stay engaged as each situation evolves,” the NBPA said in a statement, according to USA Today.
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
More:
