Kyle Lowry underlines importance of social justice in Raptors' Masai Ujiri controversy

Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri made headlines following the release of body cam footage that captured his run-in with security personnel at the Oracle Arena, only moments after the Raptors beat the Golden State Warriors in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals. The video footage from Masai Ujiri’s altercation with a security guard went viral and veteran Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry has gone to make a powerful statement in support of the 50-year-old. Lowry connected Masai Ujiri's experience to the broader Black Lives Matter campaign as well as the demands for justice for Breonna Taylor.

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Masai Ujiri racism incident: Raptors president ill-treated by security personnel

In the video that went viral, security personnel were seen being overly aggressive with Ujiri as he tried to enter the playing court to celebrate winning the NBA championship with his team. Many NBA fans believe that the Raptors president was a victim of racial profiling and that he was rather violently prevented from joining his team’s celebrations because of the colour of his skin. The incident took place more than a year ago with a number of opinions being voiced with regards to how and why Ujiri was treated that way. 

Kyle Lowry speaks on Masai Uriji's video

2019 NBA champion Kyle Lowry weighed in on the Masai Ujiri racism controversy and expressed how the incident had to be viewed as much more than just a simple case of misunderstanding between two parties. After Game 3 against the Brooklyn Nets, Lowry explained that these incidents of racism are exactly the type of transgressions that inspire him to continue fighting for social justice. Lowry has also been active in supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, taking to the streets to join in the peaceful protests.

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Kyle Lowry said post-game: "This video shows why we are supporting the Black Lives Matter campaign and why we need to get out and vote." He then spoke about the shooting of Breonna Taylor and explained, "It shows why the murderers of Breonna Taylor need to be arrested because they are horrible police officers out there." Following the altercation with security personnel, Kyle Lowry was the one to bring the Raptors president onto the court.

The Toronto Raptors lead the Brooklyn Nets by 3-0 in Round 1 of the 2020 NBA playoffs. On Thursday night, The Raptors recorded a 117-92 win over the Nets with four games remaining. Their next game will take place on Sunday night (Monday, 4:00 am IST).

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Image Credits - AP