FILE PHOTO: Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri arrives at the Canadian Screen Awards in Toronto, Ontario, Canada March 12, 2017. REUTERS/Mark Blinch
The sheriff’s deputy who alleges Masai Ujiri assaulted him following Toronto’s Game 6 victory over Golden State in the NBA Finals on June 13 is now suing the Raptors general manager, according to multiple reports Monday.
In the suit filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, deputy Alan Strickland and his wife Kelly are seeking a jury trial and asking for damages greater than $75,000, along with medical and incidental expenses (both accrued and in the future), loss of earnings, prejudgment interest, property damage and legal fees.
Alan Strickland — whose name to this point had not been made public — alleges Ujiri struck him in the face and chest as the GM attempted to make it to the court following the Raptors’ championship-clinching win at Oracle Arena in Oakland. Strickland was working security at the arena for Game 6.
According to previous reports, Strickland stated that Ujiri did not show proper credentials to go onto the area of the court he was trying to access.
According to reports, the suit claims that Alan Strickland has “suffered great anxiety, embarrassment, anger, loss of enjoyment of life, injury to reputation and severe emotional and physical distress in an amount to be determined at trial.” It adds that he has suffered permanent disability from the alleged incident.
According to ESPN, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Strickland is on leave.
“We have just been made aware a claim has been filed,” a spokesperson for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, the Raptors’ ownership group, told ESPN. “We have no comment at this time.”
The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office announced in October that his office would not file charges against Ujiri after a summer-long investigation that lasted into the fall.
—Field Level Media