Masai Ujiri After Lawsuit Dropped: 'I Have Decided My Fight Isn't a Legal One'

Alameda County sheriff's deputy Alan Strickland and Ujiri both dropped lawsuits against each other on Wednesday

Raptors president Masai Ujiri released a statement on Instagram for the first time since the 2019 lawsuit stemming from a scuffle with a law enforcement officer was dropped on Wednesday. 

Ujiri thanked the NBA, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment as well as team owner Larry Tanenbaum for their support. 

“We have to make it better. We have to fight, and we have to stand up, and we have to speak up.”

- Masai Ujiri pic.twitter.com/na7Ba6HyUm

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) February 15, 2021

"I have decided my fight isn't a legal one," Ujiri said in the Instagram post. "Now the challenge is this: What can we do to stop another man or woman from finding themselves in front of a judge or behind bars because they committed no crime other than being Black? That is the work that each of us must commit to, every day." 

Masai Ujiri's legal team has released this body camera footage of his encounter with a sheriff's deputy as he tried to walk onto the court at Oracle Arena after the Raptors won the 2019 NBA Finals.

(via @diamond83) pic.twitter.com/OJKn8R3NmU

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 19, 2020

The altercation occurred when Ujiri attempted to join the Raptors on the court after they won their first NBA championship in Oracle Arena against the Warriors. The law enforcement officer, Alameda County sheriff's deputy Alan Strickland, claimed that Ujiri didn't provide the proper credentials and led to a shoving match where the team president hit him “in the face and chest with both fists,” according to the Associated Press.

Strickland claimed he suffered “physical, mental, emotional, and economic injuries,” from the incident in the lawsuit seeking $75,000 in damages. 

In August, Ujiri's lawyers countersued using the footage from the altercation and believed the video completely vindicated him. Ujiri ultimately dropped his lawsuit on Wednesday. He alleged that that Strickland used excessive force and the altercation would not have happened if he was not Black.

MLSE released a statement expressing its disappointment in the entire ordeal.

"We continue to be deeply troubled by the fact that Masai was put in this position in the first place, and believe he should never have had to defend himself," the company said.