An altercation outside of 1OAK nightclub in New York City resulted in Indiana Pacers forward Chris Copeland and two other women getting stabbed, and Atlanta Hawks Thabo Sefolosha and Pero Antic getting arrested. Charges were later dropped against Antic but the trial against Sefolosha has begun and his lawyer says it was racially motivated.
via ESPN:
“I don’t know what he saw,” attorney Alex Spiro said of the officer, JohnPaul Giacona, who first told the Atlanta Hawks’ Thabo Sefolosha to clear the area early on April 8. “I think he saw a black man in a hoodie.”
Sefolosha, 30, has been charged with misdemeanor obstructing government administration, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. He pleaded not guilty and refused a plea deal.
But a prosecutor said Tuesday that Sefolosha, who is 6-foot-6, acted entitled and disdainful to officers trying to clear hundreds of people off a street following an earlier stabbing outside the club by calling the 5-foot-7-inch Giacona “a midget.”
“The defendant does not think he needs to obey the law,” assistant district attorney Jesse Matthews said. “He does not like being told what to do.”
