Atlanta Hawks guard Thabo Sefolosha and center Pero Antic were both ruled out for Wednesday night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets following an incident at a Manhattan nightclub where both players were arrested, according to a release from the team.
Sefolosha and Antic were arrested around 4 A.M. last night at the 1Oak nightclub in Chelsea, after Pacers forward Chris Copeland was stabbed in an altercation. According to the police report, Sefolosha was charged with “Obstructing Governmental Administration in the Second Degree, Resisting Arrest, Disorderly Conduct,” while Antic was charged with “Obstructing Governmental Administration in the Second Degree; Disorderly Conduct, and Harassment in the Second Degree.” All charges were listed as misdemeanors.
“As members of the Atlanta Hawks, we hold ourselves to a high standard and take our roles as professionals very seriously,” Sefolosha and Antic said in a prepared joint statement. “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.”
The two were arraigned Wednesday afternoon and released on their own recognizance. Sefolosha has an injured ankle from the incident:
Budenholzer confirms Sefolosha has an injured ankle that will be evaluated. #ATLHawks
— Chris Vivlamore (@CVivlamoreAJC) April 8, 2015
The Hawks also released a statement from head coach and interim general manager 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.”
