NEW YORK — A lawyer representing a professional basketball player arrested outside a New York City nightclub has told a jury his client was targeted because he's black.
Attorney Alex Spiro said Thursday in Manhattan Criminal Court that a white police officer saw a black man in a hoodie when he confronted the Atlanta Hawks' Thabo Sefolosha (sehf-ah-LOH'-shuh) on April 8.
Sefolosha was arrested while leaving a Manhattan nightclub following a stabbing. He subsequently suffered a season-ending leg fracture after a confrontation with police.
A prosecutor said in opening statements that Sefolosha called an officer who repeatedly told him and others to leave a "midget.