Former Oklahoma City Thunder player Thabo Sefolosha has thought back to his own experience with police brutality in the wake of the George Floyd killing.
In 2015, Sefolosha’s leg was broken by police outside a nightclub.
After Floyd was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis, Sefolosha spoke to the Associated Press about how he saw himself reflected in that.
“I was just horrified by what I saw,” Sefolosha said to AP. “That could have been me.”
Sefolosha, who at the time was on the Atlanta Hawks, was outside a Manhattan nightclub when three people including then-NBA player Chris Copeland were stabbed. Sefolosha testified that police told everyone to clear the area and as he was walking away from the block, he went to give a panhandler money when police grabbed him.
Police broke his leg and tore some of his ligaments. Sefolosha, accused of misdemeanor obstructing government administration, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, was found not guilty and settled for $4 million.
“It changed me a lot, toward the way I see law enforcement in this country,” Sefolosha said. “And also toward the way I see the whole justice system. I went to court and I had to do all of this to prove my innocence. It really got me deep into the system and I’m really skeptical of the whole system.”
Floyd died after an officer kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes on May 25.
The officer, Derek Chauvin, was arrested Friday. The other three officers standing by them have not been arrested.
“You see what happened in Minnesota where three human beings with a badge are watching another human being killing somebody,” Sefolosha said. “And instead of saying, ‘OK, this is my duty as a human being,’ the duty was more toward not interfering with the other officer and saying, ‘We are a clan, we stick together no matter what.’ It should be the other way around.”
Now on the Houston Rockets, Sefolosha thinks there needs to be change within the system and not just weeding out specific police officers.
“People talk about a few rotten apples,” Sefolosha said. “But you know, in my experience and from what we’re seeing, I think it’s deeper than that as a culture that’s deeply rooted in it, to be honest. That’s just my honest opinion. I think it’s really … part of a culture where it’s deeper than just a few bad apples.”
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