Body cam footage shows sheriff’s deputy shove Raptors exec at NBA Finals

Attorneys representing Masai Ujiri released footage that disputes a sheriff’s deputy’s claims that the Toronto Raptors president of basketball operations attacked him during the NBA Finals last year.

The footage, from the officer’s body camera, was released on Tuesday as part of a counterclaim that Ujiri filed in federal court in California against Alan Strickland.

Strickland, who was working as a security guard during the NBA Finals, initially filed a lawsuit against Ujiri in February alleging that the Raptors executive aggressively confronted him and “hit him in the face and chest with both fists.”

However, video of their encounter showed that Strickland twice pushed Ujiri as he tried to show his credentials and get through a guarded area after the Raptors defeated the Golden State Warriors to win the NBA Finals in Oakland, Calif. The 20-second clip showed Strickland repeatedly shoving Ujiri as he walked to the court. 

“I am president of the Raptors,” Ujiri said before Strickland shoved him and other arena security guards intervened.

Strickland can also be heard saying “back the f— up” at one point as Ujiri attempted to show his credentials. Court filings from Tuesday note that Ujiri joined the team for an on-court celebration afterward and that Strickland worked the remainder of his shift.

In the initial lawsuit filed in February, Strickland claimed that Ujiri did not show his proper credentials during their encounter. Strickland also alleged that Ujiri’s alleged attack sent him “backwards several feet,” USA Today reported. The lawsuit sought general damages in excess of the minimum jurisdictional amount of $75,000, among other things. Strickland also sued the NBA and the Raptors parent company, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.

Court documents filed Tuesday in the countersuit in U.S. district court in Oakland alleged that Strickland was “undeniably the initial aggressor” and that his actions were a “product of a personal bias he maintains that led him to stereotype Mr. Ujiri as a threatening and inherently violent individual.”

“To be sure, the great majority of law enforcement officers do not conduct themselves in this way,” the court filing said. “Mr. Strickland, however, has chosen dishonesty over integrity. Motivated by greed (and perhaps revenge), Mr. Strickland continues to lie about his encounter with Mr. Ujiri in an attempt to support his frivolous lawsuit.”

A Raptors spokesperson said in a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle that Strickland’s complaint was a “spurious legal” action that Ujiri and the NBA should not be facing. 

“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 spokesperson said. “We believe this evidence shows exactly that — Masai was not an aggressor, but instead was the recipient of two very violent, unwarranted actions. The events of that evening cast a pall over what should have been a night of celebration.”

In addition to Strickland’s lawsuit, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, where Strickland works, also pursued a battery of a peace officer charge against Ujiri. But the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office declined to move forward with charges last October, according to The Washington Post.