Masai Ujiri was elated when his Toronto Raptors won the NBA championship last season. They overcame the odds to go all the way to the Finals and ended up taking down the defending two-time champs in six games. It was a magnificent moment for basketball in Canada, although for Ujiri, what should have been cause for celebration, turned into a legal battle as a security guard at Oracle arena accused Ujiri of assaulting him.
After a year-long investigation, Ujiri's legal team released the security guard's bodycam footage, which very obviously reveals that the security guard was the aggressor. When Ujiri went to show his credentials, the guard decided to get violent which left Ujiri in a tough spot. Now that the truth has been revealed, Ujiri has issued a statement about the matter.
Per Ujiri:
"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."
Moving forward, Ujiri and the Raptors will be focusing their attention to the NBA playoffs, where the team is currently up 2-0 on the Brooklyn Nets in the first round.
