Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri released a statement after bodycam video footage showed that an Alameda County Sheriff’s deputy was the aggressor during an altercation they had June 13, 2019, at the conclusion of the 2019 NBA Finals.
The footage came out last week, and it shows officer Alan Strickland shoving Ujiri after his team beat the Golden State Warriors 114-110 in Game 6 of the finals in Oakland’s Oracle Arena to win their first championship. Although Ujiri showed his credentials to Strickland, the deputy wouldn’t let him on the court to celebrate with his team. The video contradicts Strickland’s claim that the Raptors president didn’t show his credentials and punched the deputy twice in the face, which Strickland claimed gave him a concussion.
The footage from Strickland’s own body camera confirms that Ujiri showed his credentials and didn’t punch Strickland as claimed in the deputy’s lawsuit against Ujiri, the NBA, the Raptors, and Maple Leaf Entertainment.
“The video sadly demonstrates how horribly I was treated by a law enforcement officer last year in the midst of my team, the Toronto Raptors, winning its first world championship,” Ujiri wrote in his statement that was tweeted by the Raptors on Thursday, August 20.
“It was an exhilarating moment of achievement for our organization, for our players, for our city, for our country, and for me personally, given my long-tenured professional journey in the NBA,” he added. “Yet, unfortunately, I was reminded in that moment that despite all of my hard work and success, there are some people, including those who are supposed to protect us, who will always and only see me as something that is unworthy of respectful engagement. And, there’s only one indisputable reason why that is the case — because I am Black.”
The videos that were released came from Strickland’s bodycam and security footage from Oracle Arena, and they’re part of Ujiri’s countersuit against the officer, who went on medical leave because of the incident.
In his statement, Ujiri brought up the current protests to end systemic racism, and said his case is just one example of why people need to keep fighting for justice.
“What saddens me most about this ordeal is that the only reason why I am getting the justice I deserve in this moment is because of my success,” he explained. “Because I’m the President of a NBA team, I had access to resources that ensured I could demand and fight for my justice. So many of my brothers and sisters haven’t had, don’t have, and won’t have the same access to resources that assured my justice. And that’s why Black Lives Matter.”
He continued. “And that’s why it’s important for all of us to keep demanding justice. Justice for George [Floyd]. Justice for Breonna [Taylor]. Justice for Elijah [McClain.] Justice for far too many Black lives that mattered. And justice for Black people around the world, who need our voice and our compassion to save their lives.”
After the video proved Ujiri’s innocence, a few Raptors players, including Kyle Lowry, spoke out.
“It shows why we’re supportive of the social injustices that are going on right now. It shows why we’re supporting of the Black Lives Matter. It shows why we need to get out there and vote,” Lowry told Sports Illustrated. “It shows why we need to get those guys to arrest the murderers of Breonna Taylor because there’s police officers like that officer out there who are scumbags, basically.”
There were also many people who congratulated Ujiri after he was vindicated, while they blasted Strickland.
“And law enforcement wonders why approval for them are at all time lows #blm,” one person tweeted.
