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The most important pro-sports related trial in a while is happening now and nobody's covering it
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/oct/12/the-silence-over-the-thabo-sefolosha-trial-is-deafening-and-mystifyingSwiss-born NBA player of African descent "resisted arrest" (*ahem*) and bravely chose to go to trial rather than just take a lesser plea.
On Friday, Atlanta Hawks shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha was found not guilty of disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and misdemeanor obstruction of a government administration. His acquittal on all charges in his case against the New York City Police Department was vindication for the Swiss-born star, who had his leg broken in an altercation with police earlier this year, causing him to miss the last four games of the regular season and the entirety of the playoffs.
But Sefolosha’s case stretches far beyond his own personal encounter. He took a massive risk going to trial in lieu of a plea deal, a largely unprecedented decision. But in the broadest sense the way the case was largely ignored by sports media revealed far more about our desire to sensationalize trivial issues while avoiding the hardest ones.
At the trial Sefolosha explained the scene on the night of 8 April. According to the 31-year-old, he was walking away from a commotion outside of the 1Oak nightclub in New York City, accompanied by his team-mate Pero Antic (who was also arrested that night but had the charges dropped against him soon after) and two women. Sefolosha said he was followed by officer JohnPaul Giacona who said to him, “With or without a badge, I’m going to fuck you up and I can fuck you up.” Sefolosha claimed he was then attacked when he extended his arm to give money to a homeless person by the name of True.
“Two or three officers were pulling me. I said, ‘Relax.’ They never gave me a direct order. One is pulling on my right. One is pulling on my left and someone had a hand on my neck,” Sefolosha said.
But Sefolosha’s case stretches far beyond his own personal encounter. He took a massive risk going to trial in lieu of a plea deal, a largely unprecedented decision. But in the broadest sense the way the case was largely ignored by sports media revealed far more about our desire to sensationalize trivial issues while avoiding the hardest ones.
At the trial Sefolosha explained the scene on the night of 8 April. According to the 31-year-old, he was walking away from a commotion outside of the 1Oak nightclub in New York City, accompanied by his team-mate Pero Antic (who was also arrested that night but had the charges dropped against him soon after) and two women. Sefolosha said he was followed by officer JohnPaul Giacona who said to him, “With or without a badge, I’m going to fuck you up and I can fuck you up.” Sefolosha claimed he was then attacked when he extended his arm to give money to a homeless person by the name of True.
“Two or three officers were pulling me. I said, ‘Relax.’ They never gave me a direct order. One is pulling on my right. One is pulling on my left and someone had a hand on my neck,” Sefolosha said.