The lawyers representing the Alameda County sheriff deputy are accusing Raptors president Masai Ujiri of utilizing race and the Black Lives Matter movement as persuasive measures in their ongoing case.
According to the lawyers for Alan Strickland, Ujiri refused to show the necessary credentials before the altercation. Moreover, they stated that the NBA insisted on having stricter security measures.
Strickland’s counterclaim berates the Raptors president and highlights Ujiri as attempting to “mislead the media.”
“[It was] a willful attempt to mislead the media and the public and taint the jury pool. Deputy and Mrs. Strickland submit that this false and misleading claim is an act of bad faith undertaken for a bad faith purpose,” Strickland stated in his counterclaim.
Ujiri had filed a countersuit several months after Strickland initially sued him. He was charged for Strickland’s medical expenses, lost wages and other costs accumulating to over $75,000. Included in Ujiri’s claim was body-cam footage related to the incident.
The video depicts Strickland as the instigator and Ujiri as the victim. The former Executive of the Year had this say upon reviewing the footage.
“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,” Masai Ujiri stated.
While Masai Ujiri is dealing with a lawsuit, his Raptors are currently down 0-2 to the Boston Celtics in the 2nd round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs.
