Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri reportedly struck a police officer as he tried to head down to the court to celebrate his team's first ever NBA championship. The Alameda County Sheriff's Office says that an officer asked for Ujiri's credentials, but he ignored the request and shoved past the officer to get onto the court.
"Mr. Ujiri was unknown to the deputy at that time. He [the deputy] asked him for a credential,"Sergeant Ray Kelly, a spokesman for the sheriff's office said. "He shoved the deputy out of the way and walked toward the court. The deputy pushed back. The president came forward more with a more significant push and ended up striking the deputy in the face."
A video shows team officials and other officers intervening and trying to deescalate the situation.
While Kelly acknowledged that Ujiri did not intentionally try to elbow the officer in the face, he said officials are pursuing misdemeanor charges against him over the altercation.
“We decided to take the high road in light of their victory but will submit a report for complaint,” Kelly said. “We’ve got two countries involved in this. It’s not something we wanted to have happen. It didn’t have to go this route.”
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