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       #Post#: 34--------------------------------------------------
       Raptors' Masai Ujiri: Altercation with officer happened 'because
       I am Black'
   DIR By: The Referee
       Date: August 20, 2020, 6:24 pm
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       Andrew Lopez
       ESPN
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       Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri issued a statement
       Thursday afternoon in his first public comments since video
       footage showed the altercation between Ujiri and a San
       Francisco-area sheriff's deputy after the clinching game of the
       NBA Finals last year.
       Ujiri starts the statement by thanking everyone who has
       expressed "disappointment and concern" since the video was
       released.
       "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," Ujiri
       writes.
       "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.
       "What saddens me most about this ordeal is that the only reason
       why I am getting the justice I deserve in this moment is because
       of my success. Because I'm the President of a NBA team, I had
       access to resources that ensured I could demand and fight for my
       justice. So many of my brothers and sisters haven't had, don't
       have, and won't have the same access to resources that assured
       my justice. And that's why Black Lives Matter."
       Ujiri finished the statement by saying it's important to
       continue to demand justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor,
       Elijah McClain and others.
       On Tuesday, the day the new video footage was released, Ujiri
       countersued the deputy, Alan Strickland, who is shown on the
       video shoving Ujiri and telling him to "back the f--- up" as
       Ujiri attempted to gain access to the court.
       Strickland's lawsuit, which was filed in February, alleged that
       Ujiri assaulted him and that as a result of the incident, he
       "suffered injury to his body, health, strength, activity and
       person, all of which have caused and continue to cause Plaintiff
       great mental, emotional, psychological, physical, and nervous
       pain and suffering."
       Ujiri's countersuit, which includes the Raptors, the NBA and
       Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment as plaintiffs, states that
       Strickland falsified the encounter and attempted to portray
       Ujiri as "the initial aggressor and an inherently violent
       individual." It calls Strickland's account "a complete
       fabrication" that has been contradicted by video footage.
       The Raptors, who improved to 2-0 in the first round of the
       playoffs against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, watched the
       footage as a team on Tuesday, according to players.
       On Thursday, veterans Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka once again
       backed Ujiri in his fight.
       "It [the video] shows why we're supportive of the social
       [initiatives] that are going on right now," Lowry said.
       "It shows why we're supporting of the Black Lives Matter. It
       shows why we need to get out there and vote. It shows why we
       need to get those guys to arrest the murderers of Breonna Taylor
       because there's police officers like that officer out there who
       are scumbags, basically.
       Ibaka added that the situation was "sad" because he felt like no
       one believed Ujiri's side of the story at first.
       "As a Black president in the NBA, as a Black man, it's hard. As
       a Black person, you against a white cop, in this country, you
       know, it's hard. Nobody is going to believe you," Ibaka said.
       "Things should never be like this in all other places. No matter
       where you come from, no matter your color, things should never
       be like that. Like I said, if Masai didn't have that money or if
       he wasn't in the position he is now, he'd be guilty. Thank God
       now everyone can see what happened that day. This connected us
       to understand this fight is far from being over. We have to
       stick together and we have to fight this fight together."
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