In the midst of the chaos following the early-Wednesday morning stabbing of Indiana Pacers forward Chris Copeland, police accused Atlanta Hawks members Pero Antic and Thabo Sefolosha of getting in the way of their investigation, and arrested the pair.
Antic and Sefolosha released a joint statement disputing the cops’ allegations.
Police report says it took four officers to place Thabo Sefolosha in handcuffs. #ATLHawks
— Chris Vivlamore (@CVivlamoreAJC) April 8, 2015
Sefolosha had a pronounced limp as he hobbled out of the precint, and Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said he’ll be evaluated by doctors for an ankle injury.
Per the AJC:
STATEMENT FROM HEAD COACH MIKE BUDENHOLZER: “The events of this morning involving Pero and Thabo were unfortunate as we never want to see our players put themselves in a potentially negative situation. We will continue to look into the facts of the incident but with the information and foundation that we currently have established, we will support them through this process. Otherwise it is a continuing legal matter and I will have no further comment.
JOINT STATEMENT FROM PERO ANTIC/THABO SEFOLOSHA: “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.”
According to the police report, Antic, 33, also was charged with one count of disorderly conduct and one count of second-degree harassment. Sefolosha, 30, was charged with one count of resisting arrest and one count of disorderly conduct. The two were arraigned shortly before 3 p.m. and released on their own recognizance. They have a court date of June 18. […] According to the police report, officers six times asked Antic and Sefolosha to clear the area to establish a crime scene before they were arrested. The report states the two moved a couple of feet away but did not clear the area.
