Thabo Sefolosha knows far too well about police brutality against black people.

Because, in 2015, it happened to him, when he suffered injuries by New York City police and was wrongly arrested.

Sefolosha, 36, is a 14-year NBA veteran from Switzerland who spent this season playing for the Houston Rockets before the Covid-19 pandemic put the season on hold. On Wednesday in Atlanta, he told CNN that he could see himself in George Floyd, who was killed while in police custody in Minneapolis.

“I think every black man in America, in my opinion, from the 14 years I’ve lived here, can feel that way,” Sefolosha said. “It’s that ultimate bullying. … I think it’s just an abuse of power that you’ve seen in preschool, middle school bullying, and it’s at such a high level that the people have to be fed up and something has to be done about it.”

In the early hours of April 8, 2015, Sefolosha, then with the Atlanta Hawks, and then-teammate, center Pero Antic, from Macedonia, were arrested near the scene of the stabbing of then-Indiana Pacers forward Chris Copeland and two women outside a New York nightclub.

Police said Sefolosha and Antic were not involved in the stabbing incident, but they were charged with misdemeanors, including disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental administration.

Shortly after the incident, TMZ released video that shows a group of police officers arresting the 6-foot-7 Sefolosha and taking him to the ground. It also shows an officer within that group getting out a baton and extending it near him, but what may have caused the injury is not clear in the video. Sefolosha appears to be limping as officers lead him away.

Sefolosha, who suffered a fractured fibula and ligament damage when he was arrested, said after the incident that police caused his injuries. He was forced to miss the rest of the 2015 regular season and the entire postseason.

A New York jury found Sefolosha not guilty on three misdemeanor charges. The charges against Antic, who is white, were dismissed. Sefolosha later settled a lawsuit against five police officers for $4 million.

“Everything happened so fast that at the moment it was just being myself, really, being respectful, and at the same time defending a position that I had the right to defend,” Sefolosha said to CNN. “Everything escalated so quickly that it was hard just to — looking back, just sitting in a cell and saying, ‘OK, I didn’t do anything wrong.’”

He later went on to say, “Really, it’s bullying at a high level. And that frustrates everybody. I think you see it now just with the protest and the level of anger that people have. I think it’s just enough is enough.”

As for why things escalated in his case on that overnight in New York, Sefolosha said it was because of “poor training.”

“Ego gets in the way, you know, and I think that’s one of the main problems when you’re a police officer,” Sefolosha said. “A lot is asked of you as a public servant, as someone who is here to defend the community. And I think it should be taken with pride and with more humanity, as far as you’re doing a job here for the people and understanding that everybody’s going through a lot.

“But as an officer, you’re the one with the training. You are the one who’s here, who is supposed to calm the situation down and realize what’s going on in a split second, you know? And too often this is not met.”

Sefolosha was asked what went through his mind when he saw the video of Floyd.

“Anger,” Sefolosha said. “And a sense of just being totally disconnected. How can a human being do that to somebody else and just sit on his neck for nine minutes? Intentionally in broad daylight killing someone like this. And the anger is extended to the other officers that are just around just watching. Like, what is your purpose in life? Why did you decide to become a police officer? Everything is to be put in question at this point. So I can’t really blame people that are in the street just angry.

“I just wish the leadership was a little more streamlined and people know exactly what the message, what they’re fighting for and what exactly they want after the protest. We can protest for six years. You protest and then something has got to come at the end of it, you know? But what is the message? What is the exact end goal of all of this?”

As for potentially going back to play basketball?

“The main priority should be justice, should be about fighting for sustainable justice,” Sefolosha said. “Can we do that while playing basketball? And I mean, obviously, the athletes are not the only ones that need to step up and do things. So, yeah, I think it would be great to have that outlet in times like this for everybody, for the ones that are on the court and the people watching. I think it’d be great for everybody to have (something) positive in times like this.

“But at the same time, I want myself and all the rest of the athletes with a platform, it’s time for action. And I want to really stress that I think it’s for all of us to take it upon us to be about action right now.”

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HAMMOND, La. (AP) — The sight of Southeastern Louisiana starter James Currington recuperating from a bullet wound from a shootout near student housing has provided the Lions with new perspective on their program’s best basketball season in more than a decade.

Regardless of how the Southland Conference’s top seed fares this postseason, the Lions can be grateful no one was killed when some of their players wound up in the midst of another episode of gun violence on a school campus a few weeks ago.

“Of course, who wouldn’t be stunned to find out that one of your teammates got shot,” said junior point guard Marlain Veal, who is one of Southeastern’s top scorers, averaging 12.6 points.

Southeastern (21-10, 15-3) is two victories away from its first berth in the NCAA Tournament since 2005, when now-Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy was the one giving the Lions instructions from the sideline. Currently riding an eight-game winning streak, the Lions boarded a bus on Thursday for Katy, Texas, where they’ll open conference tournament play in the semifinals on Friday night.

Currington, a senior, won’t play college basketball again. He was wounded in the shoulder during an altercation with non-students on Feb. 23, less than two weeks after a high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, killed 17 people.

Currington now wears a sling as he recovers from surgery.

“He’s still a big part of our program and obviously with us every day,” third-year Southeastern coach Jay Ladner said. “Sometimes those incidents can splinter your team, but we were able to mitigate that because our team already has a good, tight bond.”

Two men — an 18- and 19-year-old who are not students — were arrested and face multiple charges, including attempted murder. Also arrested was Southeastern player Jabbar Singleton, a senior guard, who was charged with illegal discharge of a firearm and carrying a firearm on school property.

Singleton has been banned from campus pending the outcome of the investigation.

Ladner said he and his players have been advised against discussing the ongoing case, but he added with emphasis, “I know the truth and I know our guys have a right to defend themselves.”

The coach also defended the character of Currington, noting that he has been a good student — he was named to the conference commissioner’s honor roll last academic year — and has a son.

Southeastern did not make Currington available for comment for this story.

The altercation began off campus, and a police report indicates the players were followed by car back to a parking lot near the basketball arena and student housing. That’s where shots were fired from semi-automatic weapons, wounding Currington and a second unidentified student-athlete. Singleton allegedly returned fire, also with a semi-automatic gun, striking no one, after which all parties fled.

District Attorney Scott Perrilloux did not respond to a request by The Associated Press to be interviewed about the case. His spokeswoman, Autumn Payton, said there were no attorneys of record yet for Singleton or the two others arrested — Herbert Joseph Jr. and Jacoby Senegal.

The Lions played their last three games without the 6-foot-7 Currington, whose primary role had been to defend opponents’ top post players. Brandon Gonzalez, a 6-6 redshirt freshman, has seen his minutes double in Currington’s absence.

Singleton was a top reserve. He was not arrested until several days after the shooting and even played in one game — a victory at Northwestern State on Feb. 24 — before his arrest. Southeastern has not explained why Singleton was allowed to play in that game. University executive director for public and government affairs Erin Cowser said federal law prohibits university officials from publicly discussing student discipline.

Earlier this week, Ladner brought in a Billy Reid, a former NBA player-turned-federal marshal in Mississippi, to address the team. Reid told the players they are not “bigger than life” just because they are athletes.

“You lose perspective on what might happen to you,” said Reid, who played one season for the Golden State Warriors (1980-81) and several seasons overseas after his collegiate career at San Francisco. “They thought they were bigger than life and then they’re in a situation with regular guys who have guns and start shooting at them.

“The situation could have been much worse.”

Veal and fellow guard Josh Filmore said the team stands by Currington and Singleton, and will want them to share, in some way, in whatever success the Lions continue to have.

Veal added that the handling of the unsettling circumstances surrounding the loss of two teammates was “something that we had to get through, and we were successful — and we’re going to be successful.”

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This story has been corrected to show that the last name of Southeastern’s executive director for public and government affairs is Erin Cowser, not Cowsel.

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