Masai Ujiri Releases Statement Regarding Recent Video Showing Him Being Pushed at 2019 Finals

Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri released a statement regarding the video of him appearing to be pushed at the 2019 NBA Finals.

Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri released a statement responding to the video showing him being pushed by an officer at the 2019 NBA Finals.

The statement, released on Thursday afternoon, calls for people to continue fighting for Black Lives Matter:

The video sadly demonstrates how horribly I was treated by a law enforcement officer last year in the midst of my team, the Toronto Raptors, winning its first world championship. It was an exhilarating moment of achievement for our organization, for our players, for our city, for our country, and for me personally, given my long-tenured professional journey in the NBA. Yet, unfortunately, 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. And, there’s only one indisputable reason why that is the case - because I am Black.

What saddens me most about this ordeal is that the only reason why I am getting the justice I deserve in this moment is because of my success. Because I’m the President of a NBA team, I had access to resources that ensured I could demand and fight for my justice. So many of my brothers and sisters haven’t had, don’t have, and won’t have the same access to resources that assured my justice. And that’s why Black Lives Matter.

And that’s why it’s important for all of us to keep demanding justice. Justice for George. Justice for Breonna. Justice for Elijah. Justice for far too many Black lives that mattered. And justice for Black people around the world, who need our voice and our compassion to save their lives.

A statement from our president Masai Ujiri. pic.twitter.com/ykekTq53XM

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) August 20, 2020

Ujiri has been in a year-long legal battle after Alan Strickland, the security officer who appears to push Ujiri in the video, accused Ujiri of assaulting him following the Raptors' 2019 NBA Finals victory. Ujiri subsequently countersued Strickland claiming that Strickland was the aggressor.

"After being shoved and cursed at, Mr. Ujiri did not respond aggressively towards Mr. Strickland," Ujiri's countersuit says. "Instead, he calmly asked Mr. Strickland why he had pushed him, informed Mr. Strickland he was the Raptors' President, and held up his all-access arena credential to show it to Mr. Strickland. Rather than trying to communicate with Mr. Ujiri, Mr. Strickland chose to dismiss Mr. Ujiri's claim that he was the Raptors' President and ignore the all-access credential Mr. Ujiri was trying to show him. Mr. Strickland then forcefully shoved Mr. Ujiri a second time.

The video, released Tuesday, is part of Ujiri's countersuit.

Multiple Raptors players said they had very similar reactions to seeing the video. They said it is an example of exactly what they are fighting for when they say Black Lives Matter. Here is what a few Raptors players had to say:

Kyle Lowry:

"It shows why we’re supportive of the social injustices that are going on right now. It shows why we’re supporting of the Black Lives Matter. It shows why we need to get out there and vote. It shows why we need to get those guys to arrest the murderers of Breonna Taylor because there’s police officers like that officer out there who are scumbags, basically."

Serge Ibaka:

"It's kind of sad because, honestly, I don't think anybody believed in Masai when he said he was innocent. And as a Black, as a Black president in the NBA, as a Black man, it's hard. As a Black person, you against a White cop, in this country, you know it's hard, nobody will believe you, but thank God Masai he's secure financially, he's got the possibility to fight against what happened back then. I don't think if Masai didn't have money to find good lawyers like other Black people, I think people would still not believe him. So, things should never be like this all over the place no matter where you come from, no matter your country, your colors, things should never be like that because, like I said if Masai didn't have the money or if Masai didn't be in this position he is now, he'd be guilty. So thank God now everybody can see from that tape what happened that day. This is going to tell us to understand that this fight, it's time for it to be over and we have to stick together, and let's fight this fight together."

Norman Powell:

“It speaks to what’s going on now. I’m glad there was a body cam to show what actually went down. I know there were a lot of different stories going on saying Masai was the aggressor in the situation. I’m glad we were able to get to the real bottom line and everyone can see what really happened. It’s exactly what we’re fighting for, for justice to be served for those cops who are taking the law a little bit into their own hands unnecessarily. We saw it as a team. We’re very open and passionate about social justice. I’m just really glad that the video came out and everyone saw it and Masai is able to clear his name and what people were saying about him and the whole way things went down. It’s exactly what we were fighting for. We’re going to continue to take that fight to (get rid of) the bad apples in the police force.”

Fred VanVleet:

“That was heavy stuff man. Obviously, we all are all privileged and Masai is pretty privileged in his world and you just stop and think about how good we got it because there’s people who are going to be in that same situation walking down the street who don’t have money to fight the case. Who don’t have 20,000 people in the stands and don’t have the abilities to countersue. How many times do cops do that without the body cam on, without the arena footage it’s a tough situation. Obviously we ride with Masai and we all have his back and we had it from Day 1. It’s just crazy to see how things work. It’s unfortunate. It’s why we are in the situation we are in now and fighting for social justice and equality because you see how quick things can get ugly just by somebody’s word or one bad cop or a bunch of bad cops. The system is kind of crooked and it’s not designed for us so it’s tough. It’s emotional stuff."