Update, May 19, 8 a.m.
An Alameda County deputy is on medical leave after an altercation with Masai Ujiri, the president of basketball operations for the Toronto Raptors, according to the deputy’s attorney David Mastagni.
Mastagni said his client also a concussion from the incident.
Ujiri was attempting to celebrate with his team on the court after the NBA Championship game Thursday when he was stopped by the deputy checking for credentials.
Ujiri allegedly pushed the deputy who then pushed back and then followed with a more serious shove that struck the deputy’s head, according to Mastagni.
Mastagni said all legal options are on the table.
“This was an unprovoked significant hit in the jaw resulting in a serious concussion, a temporal medibulor joint injury, which is a serious jaw injury,” said Mastagni.
Alameda County Sheriff Ray Kelly, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, said the department will recommend a misdemeanor batter charge against Ujiri.
The team said it will cooperate with the investigation.
Original Story
Prosecutors will decide whether to charge Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri with misdemeanor battery after he was accused of shoving and hitting a sheriff’s deputy in the face while trying to join his team on the court to celebrate their first NBA championship.
Alameda County sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly said investigators are reviewing footage from body cameras worn by the deputy and other officers, the stadium’s surveillance video and cellphone video. He said a report will be forwarded to prosecutors sometime later this week and the office will likely recommend a charge of misdemeanor battery against an officer. At that point, it will be up to the district attorney’s office whether to charge Ujiri.
Despite some misunderstandings online and in the press, Kelly is not the deputy in question.
The name of the officer is not currently being released, partially because he is a victim, said Kelly, and partially because “there’s a tremendous amount of threats that have been made against the deputy,” he said.
After the game Thursday night in Oakland against the Golden State Warriors, Ujiri tried to walk past the deputy who was checking court-access credentials, Kelly said. When the deputy stopped him, Ujiri shoved him back several feet and yelled obscenities, according to Kelly.
“That’s when our deputy goes hands-on and moves Mr. Ujiri back from the court. Mr. Ujiri made a second, more significant shove and during that shove his arm struck our deputy in the side of the head,” Kelly said.
The deputy complained of pain in his jaw and was taken to a hospital for evaluation and later released.
A video of the altercation obtained by NBC Bay Area shows Ujiri and a deputy being held back courtside by several bystanders. It doesn’t show the scuffle. The video appeared to show Ujiri holding some type of credential in his right hand while standing by the court.
