Masai Ujiri's legal team dismisses 'baseless' claims against him after new bodycam footage

Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri was earlier sued after being involved in an altercation with Sheriff's Deputy Alan Strickland. During incident after Game 6 of NBA Finals 2019, Strickland, who was security guard, didn't allow Ujiri to pass and enter court to celebrate despite Ujiri trying to show his credentials. After incident, Strickland ended up suing Ujiri, Raptors and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), company that owns team. 

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Raptors president Masai Ujiri's legal team unveil new evidence of incident after Warriors vs Raptors 2019 Game 6

On Tuesday, Ujiri's new bodycam foot was released which showed incident from deputy Strickland's perspective. video showed Strickland instigating altercation, which doesn't line up with lawsuit filed by guard. deputy pushed Ujiri first and did so one more time when Ujiri started to explain himself. video ends after Ujiri makes contact with Strickland. Raptors released a statement that accompanied video, saying that it proves Ujiri's incence in matter. 

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"We are mindful this remains before courts, but we have always maintained that claims made against Masai are baseless and entirely without merit," statement read. Ujiri's legal team added that Raptors president was "t an aggressor" and was actually "recipient of two very violent, unwarranted actions". y spoke about Raptors winning NBA Finals 2019, where incident "cast a pall over what should have been a night of celebration". team even ackwledged that while Ujiri is backed by MLSE and Raptors in his fight against injustice, ors do t have access to similar resources. However, y maintained that "this a spurious legal action that MLSE, NBA, and especially Masai should t be facing."

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Strickland's lawsuit against Raptors president Masai Ujiri

Strickland's lawsuit accuses Ujiiri of inflicting injuries to his head, jaw, chin and teeth. However, bodycam foot shows that Strickland himself was aggressor. His lawsuit furr stated that deputy has “suffered, and will continue to suffer, physical, mental, emotional, and ecomic injuries, including, but t limited to, lost ws, lost opportunity for financial gain, future earning capacity, and past and future medical care and expenses.” While charges were ever filed against Ujiri, entire incident affected Ujiri's celebrations after Raptors' first-ever NBA championship. In video, Strickland cusses at Ujiri and tells him to back up. Ujiri questions back, asking why he was pushed, stating that he is president of Raptors. 

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(Im credits: AP)