Deputy claims Ujiri tapping into anti-cop 'prejudices' in countersuit

Warning: Video contains coarse language

In the latest legal filing related to the physical altercation between an Alameda sheriff's deputy and Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri, Alan Strickland's legal representatives allege Ujiri is attempting to build his case by tapping into negative public sentiment about law enforcement officers.

Tuesday's filings claim Ujiri is "taking advantage of the now pervasive anti-law enforcement prejudices and to falsely allege racial animus and prejudicial bias is the reason for Strickland’s conduct on the date of the incident," according to the Toronto Star's Doug Smith.

The altercation occurred in the immediate aftermath of Game 6 of last year's NBA Finals when the Raptors clinched the franchise's first championship on the road at the Golden State Warriors' Oracle Arena.

Ujiri attempted to join the Raptors on the court for the post-title celebration. Strickland, who was working security at the game, blocked Ujiri's passage, then shoved the 50-year-old executive twice in the chest, as seen in body-cam footage released last month.

In the days following the incident, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office recommended Ujiri be charged with minor assault, though the Alameda Country District Attorney declined to press charges.

However, Strickland still filed a lawsuit against Ujiri in February alleging the Raptors' top decision-maker caused him to suffer a "permanent disability" and "great mental, physical, emotion, and psychological pain and suffering."

In a counterclaim filed last month, Ujiri maintained that Strickland was the aggressor and deployed "unnecessary force." Ujiri also released a statement through the Raptors asserting Strickland's actions were a case of racial profiling.

"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," the statement read. "And, there’s only one indisputable reason why that is the case - because I am Black."