NBA player takes on police brutality.

• Author: Zirin, Dave
• Position: EDGE OF SPORTS

NBA player Thabo Sefolosha's declaration on October 26 that he will be suing the city of New York and eight police officers for a stout $50 million marks a stunning reversal of fortune.

Just days earlier, Sefolosha was facing a stint behind bars, defending himself in court against charges of resisting arrest. The story about the confrontation between eight officers and Sefolosha was as bizarre as it was grotesque--and that was just the version that the prosecution was spinning.

It began at a Manhattan nightclub where NBA player Chris Copeland was stabbed in the stomach. Sefolosha, regarded as having one of the best reputations in the NBA, was leaving the club along with his Atlanta Hawk teammate Pero Antic and two women. A police officer followed Sefolosha almost an entire city block from the crime scene, a source told Sports Illustrated. Words were exchanged, and when the dust cleared, the cops had broken his leg. No one disputes this.

The injury took months to heal and removed Sefolosha from the court just when his number-one seeded team was about to start the playoffs. As if that wasn't punishment enough, there was Sefolosha in criminal court, basically being accused of assaulting a nightstick with his leg. In her closing argument, Assistant District Attorney Francesca Bartolomey thundered, "Imagine a world where we are allowed to say no to an officer... that's chaos." After hearing this codswallop, the jury met for less than an hour --they didn't even stretch it out long enough to get the free lunch--and proclaimed Sefolosha not guilty. It was a courtroom victory against police misconduct and for the idea that being black does not exclude you from the right, yes the right, "to say no to a police officer."

After the verdict, Sefolosha was asked if he would sue the NYPD. All he said then was, "I haven't made a...