A countersuit submitted by Toronto Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri includes new video footage showing the San Francisco Bay Area police officer with whom he had a change in the moments after the Raptors won Game 7 of the NBA Finals of 2019 was the aggressor.
The suit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Oakland, California.
The footage shows the officer – Alan Strickland – grabbing Ujiri through the package and tugging at him, telling him to ‘make the f — up’ when Ujiri tried to show his team credibility. Ujiri tried to reach the floor of Oracle Arena to celebrate with the Raptors in the wake of Toronto that won the first NBA championship in franchise history against the Golden State Warriors.
The two exchanges then ended, and Ujiri withdrew his references again. Strickland shook Ujiri a second time, and Ujiri shoved Strickland back.
After the two men divorced, Ujiri was finally able to make it to court to fight with the rest of the Raptors.
“After he was kicked and cursed, Mr Ujiri did not react aggressively to Mr Strickland,” the suit said. “Instead, he quietly asked Mr. Strickland why he had shot him, Mr. Strickland informed him that he was the President of the Raptors, and he held up his reference room with all access rights to show it to Mr. Strickland. Rather than try to communicating with Mr. Ujiri, Mr. Strickland chose to ignore Mr. Ujiri’s claim that he was the President of the Raptors and to ignore the references with all access. Mr. Ujiri tried to show him. Mr. Strickland then shot Mr. Ujiri with doubt a second time.
“It was only after being unfairly said to return ‘the f — up’ and move twice, that Mr Ujiri showed every reaction and gave a shove back to Mr Strickland’s chest. “Ujiri was a reasonable and fair response to Mr Strickland’s use of unnecessary and excessive force.”
The Strickland suit, filed in February, claimed that Ujiri attacked him in the moments following the Toronto victory and that as a result of the incident he “suffered injuries to his body, health, strength, activity and person, which ‘ all have caused and continue to cause mental, emotional, psychological, physical, and nervous pain and suffering. “
Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern initially asked that Ujiri be charged with battery by a peace officer after the incident, claiming that Ujiri hit Strickland’s jaw and shoulder. Eventually, however, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office refused to press at all costs after a month-long investigation ended with a meeting between the office, Ujiri and his lawyers in October.
Ujiri’s countersuit, which includes the Raptors, the NBA and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment as plaintiffs, says Strickland falsified her encounter and tried to portray Ujiri as “the initial aggressor and an inherently violent individual”. It goes on to call Strickland’s account “a complete fabrication” that is contradicted by video images.
In a statement released later Tuesday, the Raptors said the new video evidence proves that Ujiri “was not an aggressor, but instead was the recipient of two very violent, unjust actions.”
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