Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri pushed and struck a sheriff’s deputy while attempting to reach the court to celebrate his team’s NBA championship on Thursday in Oakland, California, according to reports.
An altercation began after a man witnesses identified as Ujiri was blocked from the floor by a deputy after the Raptors defeated the Golden State Warriors in Game 6, NBC Bay Area reported.
The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, which did not identify Ujiri by name, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the man lacked “proper credentials.”
The deputy “did not know who the man was and asked for the credential, and that’s when he tried to push past our deputy, and our deputy pushed him back, and there was another push that kind of moved up and struck our deputy in the face,” Sgt. Ray Kelly said. “At that point, several bystanders intervened and the executive did ultimately get back onto the court without displaying credentials.”
A video obtained by NBC showed the apparent aftermath in which another man tries to restrain an officer or security guard from continuing the encounter. Ujiri is eventually escorted onto the floor.
The sheriff’s office is investigating a possible “misdemeanor battery of an officer” charge and the Oakland Police Department is also looking into the matter, NBC reported.
No arrests were made, but possible charges are being reviewed by the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, the sheriff’s spokesman told the Chronicle.
HuffPost didn’t immediately get replies to requests for comment from the sheriff, the NBA or the Raptors.
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