Skip to content

Raptors' Ujiri says incident with deputy was a case of racial profiling

Andrew D. Bernstein / National Basketball Association / Getty

Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri addressed the latest development regarding his June 2019 interaction with an Alameda County sheriff's deputy Thursday.

Lawyers for Ujiri released police body camera footage reportedly from the officer in question on Tuesday. The footage appears to show sheriff's deputy Alan Strickland violently shoving Ujiri twice as the executive attempts to enter the Oracle Arena court to celebrate the Raptors' NBA championship.

In a team statement, Ujiri said the encounter was an example of being unfairly targeted because he is Black:

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. 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. 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.

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. 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.

And that’s why it’s important for all of us to keep demanding justice. Justice for George. Justice for Breonna. Justice for Elijah. 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.

Those are the ties that bind us.

With love and determination,

Masai Ujiri

Strickland sued Ujiri earlier this year, claiming he was injured in the altercation. Ujiri countersued Strickland earlier this week. The Alameda County Sheriff's Office told CP24's Stephanie Smyth it stands behind Strickland's assertion that Ujiri was the "aggressor" in the incident.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox