Raptors president Masai Ujiri ‘falsely alleges racial animus and prejudicial bias,’ sheriff’s deputy claims

The sheriff’s deputy caught on tape violently shoving Raptors president Masai Ujiri twice mere minutes after Toronto won the 2019 NBA championship now charges Ujiri with making race an issue in the latest salvo of the long-standing proceedings.

Lawyers for Alan Strickland, the Alameda County cop in the middle of the protracted fight, filed a counterclaim in U.S. District Court Tuesday saying 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.”

The latest filing was made after Ujiri, along with co-plaintiffs the NBA, the Raptors and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, submitted a 108-page counterclaim last month after being sued by Strickland for medical expenses, lost wages and other costs in excess of $75,000 (U.S.), alleging he suffered serious injuries from the altercation. Ujiri’s counterclaim also included body-cam video evidence of Strickland shoving Ujiri twice on the night in question.

And the Raptors president made it clear he felt racist behaviour was behind Strickland’s physical altercation.

“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,” Ujiri said in a statement released by the team last month after the video was made public.

“And there’s only one indisputable reason why that is the case — because I am Black.”

In Tuesday’s filing, Strickland’s lawyers say Ujiri’s suit is “a wilful attempt to mislead the media and the public and taint the jury pool.”

They also contend Ujiri was not wearing the proper credentials to enter the court minutes after Toronto’s title-winning performance in June 2019.

Both Ujiri and the Raptors declined to comment Wednesday.

A petition urging Strickland’s firing from the Alameda sheriff’s staff has gained nearly 10,000 signatures, according to a report from KTVU-TV in Oakland, which has been tirelessly following the incident for more than a year.

“Alan F. Strickland continues to skirt the law by abusing his position as a law enforcement officer,” the petition reads, citing the deputy’s past criminal conviction for insurance fraud, first reported by KTVU.

According to the station’s reporting, Strickland “has accrued about $150,000 in workers’ compensation so far,” court records show. And he has not been back to work since.

The petition notes that this claim is “dubious … another attempt to fraudulently receive worker’s compensation benefits at the expense of taxpayer money.”

The continuing saga continues to cast a bit of a pall today over Toronto’s championship and how Ujiri should have been able to celebrate it.

And the feeling is NBA-wide.

Loading…

Loading…Loading…Loading…Loading…Loading…

“He shared the video with me,” Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers said of Ujiri when the video first became public.“It was sad to see. It’s actually very hurtful to watch that video. A man is that the pinnacle of his career at that moment walking out on the floor to celebrate with his team — they’d just won the NBA championship. And he had to be reminded once again what his colour was. And it’s just so sad.

“When you see the whole video, which I don’t think a lot of people have seen yet — the cop was nice, nice, nice, and then here comes this one Black man with a suit. It’s just really sad.”

The Raptors, owned by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, have steadfastly supported Ujiri.

“We are mindful this remains before the courts, but we have always maintained that the claims made against Masai are baseless and entirely without merit,” the Raptors said in a statement. “We believe this video evidence shows exactly that – Masai was not an aggressor, but instead was the recipient of two very violent, unwarranted actions.”