Masai Ujiri Alleges Sheriff's Deputy Alan Strickland Assaulted Him in New Filing

Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri has said that he was the one attacked by a sheriff's deputy during the 2019 NBA Finals. 

Per The Athletic's Daniel Kaplan, Ujiri made the claim in response to litigation by Alan Strickland:

“As Mr. Ujiri attempted to enter the court, Mr. Strickland assaulted him, forcefully shoving him back once and then twice. Mr. Ujiri then shoved Mr. Strickland in the chest. Other than the shoves, the two men did not have any further physical contact with each other. The entire encounter between Mr. Strickland and Mr. Ujiri was brief. Mr. Ujiri was eventually escorted to the court where he joined his team, accepted the championship trophy, and gave a live on camera interview.”

Strickland, an Alameda County sheriff's deputy who worked security at Oracle Arena for Game 6 of the NBA Finals last summer, filed a lawsuit against Ujiri and the Raptors in February. 

In the lawsuit, Strickland claimed Ujiri "hit him in the face and chest with both fists" as he was trying to check Ujiri's security credentials following Toronto's 114-110 victory over the Golden State Warriors to win the NBA championship. 

The Alameda County District Attorney's Office declined to press charges against Ujiri despite a battery charge being recommended by the Alameda Police Department. 

Ujiri has been with the Raptors organization since the 2013-14 season, when he was hired as executive vice president and general manager. The team promoted him to president of basketball operations after the 2015-16 season.