OAKLAND — Toronto Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri is under investigation and could face criminal charges after he is suspected of pushing and striking an Alameda County sheriff’s deputy in the face Thursday night following Game 6 of the NBA finals, authorities said Friday.
But a Warriors fan who said he saw the while thing is contradicting that account, according to the Associated Press. He said Ujiri didn’t hit the deputy.
Ujiri was not arrested and both the sheriff’s office and Oakland police will submit reports to the district attorney’s office which will decide what if any charges will be filed. At this point the incident is being investigated as a misdemeanor battery, authorities said, and a bystander has disputed the deputy’s description of events.
The confrontation, captured on security and other videos as well as the deputy’s body camera, happened moments after the Raptors defeated the Golden State Warriors 114-110 to capture the NBA championship.
#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
Sheriff’s Sgt. Ray Kelly said Friday that Ujiri tried to come on the court to join the team but did not have the proper credentials.
“You have to have special credentials to get on the court,” Kelly said. “We were told by the NBA to strictly enforce credentialing. We have an obligation to make sure everyone is safe. Everyone knows of the policy. He did not have his credentials displayed. It’s an NBA rule they have to be visible.”
But just before the confrontation, Ujiri was seen on video walking toward the court with a credential in his right hand. It’s not clear whether that credential was marked to give Ujiri access to the floor.
Masai Ujiri is *holding* his credential in his hand as he walks out of the tunnel into the arena after the Raptors won the title…the scuffle that occurred with the cop could get ugly for that cop unless Masai dropped it. pic.twitter.com/xiCWfxnINz
— jack's #NBAFinals diary (@JacksKnow) June 14, 2019
Kelly said when the deputy, a member of the department’s bomb squad, tried to stop Ujiri, who he did not know, Ujiri “pushed the deputy out of the way to get on the court. The deputy pushed him back and said he could not get on the court.”
Kelly said Ujiri shoved the deputy again but this time his arm went up and “struck the deputy in the face,” Kelly said. He was not injured. His name has not been released.
At that point NBA officials who were present stepped in and got Ujiri away and allowed him to join the celebration, Kelly said.
Ujiri could have been arrested at the scene but “given the dynamics of the situation we decided to take the high road” and submit reports of the incident to the district attorney for a criminal complaint, Kelly said.
A Warriors season ticket holder, Greg Wiener, told The Associated Press that the deputy did not ask for Ujiri’s credential and Ujiri did not hit the officer.
Kelly said numerous witness statements have either already been obtained or will be, and investigators are reviewing numerous videos including the body camera footage.
That process normally takes several days so a decision on any criminal charges most likely won’t be made until next week at the earliest, authorities said.
Kelly said the sheriff’s department is also in contact with the NBA about what happened. The NBA confirmed that it is working with the sheriff’s department and the Raptors and is “in the process of gathering more information.”
The Raptors said they are cooperating with authorities in the investigation.
Weiner, who had not spoken to authorities Friday, said he felt he had to speak up as a witness after reading the sheriff’s department’s account of the confrontation.
“I read it saying ‘Wait the cops are not telling the truth,'” he told the AP. “This looks like somebody trying to embellish what happened to protect what they did, what the policeman did.”
Ujiri is the person most credited for bringing Canada its first NBA title, after adding NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard to the Raptors’ roster last offseason. Moments after making it to the floor, Ujiri was being interviewed by ESPN’s Doris Burke while simultaneously having rumors begin swirling about lucrative offers from other NBA teams headed his way.
ESPN Sources: The Washington Wizards are preparing to make a prolific offer to Toronto's championship architect Masai Ujiri — as much as $10M annually — to run its basketball operations. https://t.co/KQf18YUkLN
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 14, 2019
The altercation between Ujiri and the sheriff’s deputy marked the second incident at Oracle Arena during the NBA finals between someone affiliated with one of the teams. During Game 3 on June 5, Mark Stevens, a minority owner of the Warriors, shoved Toronto’s Kyle Lowery after the player dove into the courtside seats to save a loose ball.
The league took quick action, and the NBA and the Warriors announced that Stevens has been banned from attending any NBA game for one year and fined $500,000 for his actions.
In a statement, Stevens took “full responsibility” for his actions and said he was “embarrassed by what transpired.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Check back for updates.