During the chaos of the Toronto Raptors capturing their first NBA championship, an incident appears to have occurred involving the police and Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri.
Authorities are looking into allegations that Ujiri and a sheriff’s deputy were involved in an “altercation” following the Raptors' 114-110 victory over the Golden State Warriors:
#BREAKING: Sheriff's deputy reportedly pushed and struck in the face by a man believed to be a Toronto Raptors executive after Game 6 of the #NBAFinals at Oracle Arena, @ACSOSheriffs says. https://t.co/fobdK9iWEq pic.twitter.com/a4X0IysY5Z
— Kristofer Noceda (@krisnoceda) June 14, 2019
In a statement made by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, the deputy was allegedly pushed and struck in the face. The altercation seems to have stemmed from Ujiri being denied access to the court and the team’s celebration, due to having the incorrect credentials, per the San Francisco Chronicle:
“(The deputy) did not know who the man was and asked for the credential, and that’s when he tried to push past our deputy, and our deputy pushed him back, and there was another push that kind of moved up and struck our deputy in the face,” Sheriff’s office spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly said. “At that point, several bystanders intervened and the executive did ultimately get back onto the court without displaying credentials.”
According to Kelly, the force had no intention of chasing down Ujiri, but did note that he did not follow the proper policy to get onto the court:
“It’s not like we were going to chase him down,” Kelly said. “He had a right to be there, but he didn’t follow the credential policy.”
Masai Ujiri has been with the Raptors since 2013, and has been credited with being the architect behind the Raptors' championship-winning roster. No arrests have been made regarding the incident, and it remains to be seen if any additional charges will be filed.
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