The memories never stop – they just come with different names and different faces.
On Tuesday night, lawyers for Toronto President Raptors Masai Ujiri released the body-cam video of Deputy Alan Strickland of Alameda County Sheriff. The video is from the night of June 2019 when the Raptors beat the Golden State Warriors at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, claiming to be the franchise’s first NBA Championship.
The video shows Ujiri going to court to celebrate with players, his hand on a pass with heavy access that he appeared to be hanging in his jacket. It sounds like someone’s telling Ujiri to show Strickland the pass, but before he can, Strickland seems to put a hand on Ujiri’s chest and shakes him, telling him to ‘the [expletive] op. “
Ujiri says, ‘What are you pushing me for? I’m the chairman of the Raptors.
Strickland puts both hands in his chest and shakes him again. At that point, Ujiri shot Strickland back.
The greatest moment of Ujiri’s professional career, shot forever by him being abused and mistreated.
There was no reason for Strickland to become great against Ujiri at that moment, no excuse for his behavior. The former 6-foot-4 guard, then 49 years old, posed no threat, had wrapped the lanyard around for his references and identified himself as the team president.
But Strickland did not hear him. And we are not talking about crowd noise.
It’s another reminder for Black Americans, for marginalized Black people around the world, that no matter what level of success is achieved, no matter what our income level, no matter what we wear – Ujiri sat in a charcoal green suit, probably adjusted, and a Raptors purple band when the incident happened – we are never good enough, never accepted, never hated by some people.
It brings back memories of a racial slur spray-painted on the gates outside LeBron James’ Los Angeles home in 2017; of scholar and Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates arrested in Cambridge, Massachusetts, after being suspected of burglary in his own home a decade ago; of tennis standout James Blake was sued in 2015 by New York City police for allegedly looking like a suspect in a credit card scam; of a Greek official named Giannis Antetokounmpo, who grew up in the country, a ‘monkey’ and the Greek equivalent of the N-word last month after Antetokounmpo discussed the racism he faced there after his family emigrated from Nigeria.
Despite the evidence, Strickland claims he was a victim. This week, however, Ujiri filed a countersuit in federal court, and the video release is tied to that.
The Toronto Raptors’ legal team, President Masai Ujiri, released body-cam recordings showing a sheriff’s deputy setting up an altarpiece. (Carlos Osorio / Toronto Star via Getty Images)
Ujiri was born in England to Nigerian parents, although his family returned to Nigeria when he was a toddler. Like many children around the world, he first played football, but became obsessed with basketball as a teenager. His parents moved him to Washington State High School to pursue his love for the sport, where he lived with another family from their homeland.
After a professional career in Europe, he began a career in coaching. After traveling with a young Nigerian player to a draft tryout, he made an impression on then-Orlando scouting director John Brokaw. In 2013, Ujiri was appointed general manager of Raptors and was eventually promoted to team president. Toronto has made the playoffs every year where he is at the helm.
If one of Ujiri’s statues can be treated as he was by Strickland, in an arena full of people, with dozens of witnesses and wearing a body camera that recorded the entire incident, what will be done to other Black people if there are no witnesses?
Players from NBA and WNBA have devoted their time in their respective bubbles to work of social justice and fighting against oppression of voters. For the Raptors, the work is even more personal.
“I know there were a lot of different stories coming out that said Masai was the aggressor in the situation,” Raptors swingman Norm Powell said Wednesday. ‘I’m glad we got to the real bottom and everyone can see what really happened. This is exactly what we are fighting for, for justice to be served for those cops who take the law a little into their own hands. “
This is the reason why there are marches. This is the reason why there are protests. This is why we cry that black lives matter – because we see time and time again documented evidence that for some people the bare minimum of human decency cannot be met.
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