It’s been one week since Thabo Sefolosha suffered a season-ending injury during an incident with police outside of popular NYC nightclub 1Oak. Sefolosha was arrested by the NYPD for interfering with the establishment of a crime scene after Indiana Pacers forward Chris Copeland was stabbed early Wednesday morning.
Sefolosha suffered a broken right fibia and ligament damage during the arrest. In his first public comments since the arrest and injury, Sefolosha blamed the police for his injury, saying:
“I would like to begin by expressing my gratitude to my family and friends, the Hawks organization and my teammates. This has been a difficult time for me and I truly appreciate the support I have received from everyone. I am extremely disappointed that I will not be able to join my teammates on the court during the playoffs and apologize to them for any distraction this incident has caused. I will be cheering for them every step of the way and will be diligent in my rehabilitation.
“On advice of counsel, I hope you can appreciate that I cannot discuss the facts of the case. Those questions will be answered by my attorney in a court of law. I will simply say that I am in great pain, have experienced a significant injury and that the injury was caused by the police.”
The Internal Affairs Bureau of the NYPD is interested in interviewing Sefolosha, who averaged 5 points and 4 rebounds a game this season for the Hawks. The NBAPA is also conducting its own investigation. The Hawks open up the first round of the playoffs this week, against either the Indiana Pacers or the Brooklyn Nets.
