Moments after the Raptors won their first NBA championship, team president Masai Ujiri allegedly assaulted a local police officer at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., the sheriffB次元官网网址檚 office said Friday.
A spokesman for the Alameda County SheriffB次元官网网址檚 Office said Ujiri was making his way to the court to celebrate his teamB次元官网网址檚 historic win over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday when he was stopped by a sheriffB次元官网网址檚 deputy and asked for his credentials.
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B次元官网网址淭his deputy had no idea who (Ujiri) was,B次元官网网址� Sgt. Ray Kelly said in a phone interview.
Ujiri didnB次元官网网址檛 have the credentials on him, Kelly said, adding that the former NBA executive of the year then allegedly pushed the deputy out of the way in an effort to get on the court.
B次元官网网址淥ur deputy pushed the man back and told him he couldnB次元官网网址檛 go onto the court,B次元官网网址� Kelly alleged. B次元官网网址淎t that point, the gentleman pushed our deputy again, and during that push his arm struck our deputy in the jaw.B次元官网网址�
He said at that point, NBA security intervened and Ujiri was able to get onto the court. A local television station, NBC Bay Area, shared video from the immediate aftermath of the alleged incident that appears to show another man separating the deputy from Ujiri, who is then led onto the court by Raptors guard Kyle Lowry.
Kelly said that rather than arrest Ujiri on international television, the department decided to take the B次元官网网址渉igh roadB次元官网网址� and file a misdemeanour complaint to local prosecutors. He said the officer was not seriously injured in the alleged incident, but did complain of pain in his jaw.
Asked about the appearance of a well-known executive being held back from celebrating a historic win with the team he built, Kelly said optics were of no concern.
B次元官网网址淭here is a credentialling policy that the NBA has in place. Everybody from the top executives all the way down B次元官网网址� know that you must wear credentials to get on the court,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淲e would expect more from a team president.B次元官网网址�
A spokeswoman for the Raptors said they were co-operating with the U.S. authorities and looked forward to resolving the situation. The Alameda County District AttorneyB次元官网网址檚 Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Canadian Press
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