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Team president Masai Ujiri got involved in a troublesome incident just moments after the Toronto Raptors were crowned NBA champions. A sheriff's deputy alleged that Ujiri struck him in the face after the latter attempted to get on the court to join the championship celebration.
Witnesses, however, claimed that, while the two did get involved in a shoving match, Ujiri never struck the deputy in the face.
Initial reports said that the deputy stopped Ujiri on his tracks as he tried to enter the court without any identification. However, according to a report by Robyn Doolittle of The Globe and Mail, the Alameda County Sheriff admitted that Ujiri did present an ID prior to the incident. It just wasn't the specified credentials required to enter the court.
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Raptors president Masai Ujiri identified himself to a police officer who was blocking the executive from the on-court celebrations after the Raptors’ historic NBA Finals win last Thursday, police say.
The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Mr. Ujiri told the deputy he was the team’s president and did present NBA identification, after The Globe and Mail described an eyewitness account of the officer being told that Mr. Ujiri was a Raptors executive, moments before the two became embroiled in a shoving match.
But according to police, Mr. Ujiri did not have the specific credentials needed to enter the court. The Raptors executive appeared to be holding a red badge, but only officials with a purple badge and gold arm band were allowed on the court. This, multiple witnesses told The Globe and Mail, is what precipitated the incident between the officer and Mr. Ujiri, a confrontation that has stirred a fierce debate about racial profiling and raised questions about how the team president could be denied entry to the court in a moment of triumph, even if he had the wrong lanyard. Though the NBA is made up predominantly of black players, Mr. Ujiri is one of only a handful of high-level executives who are not white.
On one hand, the deputy can argue that he was just doing his job. However, this is the Raptors team president we're talking about. He has every right to be on the floor to celebrate with the team that he constructed.
This is certainly a buzz kill to what was a magical moment for Ujiri and the Raptors. The 48-year old executive went through years of heartbreak and frustration before finally reaching the summit with their title win over a week ago. It's just unfortunate that it has to be clouded with this kind of conundrum.
