One week before the playoffs begin, a couple of Hawks players are dealing with some drama off the court.
Pero Antic spoke out Friday and said he and Thabo Sefolosha plan to fight the charges brought against them after they were arrested outside a New York City nightclub on Wednesday.
“The only thing I can say is we feel bad for the bad publicity that we brought to the Hawks organisation, the Hawks family, not by our fault,” Antic said to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
“I just want to say I am going to be supportive of Thabo, my teammates and just think about the basketball right now and the good things we can do.”
Sefolosha and Antic were arrested after they allegedly attempted to prevent police from setting up a crime scene after Pacers forward Chris Copeland was stabbed outside a nightclub.
At some point during the arrest, Sefolosha sustained a broken fibula and ligament damage, which will require surgery and end his season with the Hawks. The 6-5 small forward averaged 5.3 points per game this season, but played a key role in the team's defensive scheme. Antic, a 6-11 forward, is averaging 5.7 ppg.
“The video speaks for itself,” Antic said when asked if he and Sefolosha were wrongly arrested.
“It is a legal matter. We have great people who are great doing their job. We are going to let them do their job. We are going to try to do our job and do what we can because we have big goals for this season.
“I will say it’s a pure example of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. People know Thabo for so many years of being in the league. Thabo is one of the greatest guys. A few of the reporters here know me. I don’t have anything (in my past) so it is just a pure example, like I said, of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
According to police, officers were trying to establish a crime scene after Copeland and two women were stabbed when Antic and Sefolosha allegedly refused to move and obey orders, prompting the arrest.
“To be honest, no,” Antic said when asked if he and Sefolosha were trying to shield bystanders from taking pictures of Copeland. “We didn’t have anything to do with what happened with that. We weren’t together. We didn’t see the guy. Whatever happened, happened way before.”
Antic said that both he and Sefolosha have apologised to the Hawks organisation, and that their teammates are standing behind them.
“We support our teammates,” forward DeMarre Carroll said.
“At the end of the day, I’m going to ride with my guys. It’s a legal matter. We can’t read too much into it. We’ll do what we can to help them, support them and keep their head straight.”
The Hawks have won a franchise-record 60 regular season games and have already clinched the No. 1 playoff seed in the Eastern Conference. They will have home-court advantage throughout the conference playoffs.