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Sheriff’s deputy, Raptors president Masai Ujiri drop lawsuits against each other

Masai Ujiri at Raptors-Warriors Game 6 of 2019 NBA Finals

OAKLAND, CA - JUNE 13: President of Basketball Operations Masai Ujiri and Kyle Lowry #7 of the Toronto Raptors celebrate after Game Six of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors on June 13, 2019 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

NBAE via Getty Images

The lawsuit against Raptors president Masai Ujiri fell apart when we saw the video

Even Alameda County sheriff’s deputy Alan Strickland – who claimed Ujiri attacked him after Toronto beat the Warriors in the 2019 NBA Finals – realized that.

Lisa Fernandez of KTVU:

OAKLAND, Calif. - The Alameda County sheriff’s deputy who was seen shoving the Toronto Raptors president after the Canadian team beat the Warriors in June 2019 on Wednesday dropped his federal lawsuit against Masai Ujiri.

In response, Ujiri dropped his countersuit against Deputy Alan Strickland, KTVU has learned.

In addition, Strickland has since returned to work, according to Alameda County Sheriff’s spokesman Ray Kelly. He has been assigned to administrative duties.


It’s concerning Strickland is back on the job. The gap between what he claimed happened and
what actually happened is VAST. How can he be trusted in such a powerful position, even in an administrative role? Theoretically, Strickland has shown proper growth from this incident. But I’m skeptical the Almeda County sheriff’s department has the proper levels of accountability.

As for Ujiri, it’s a shame he had to go through this.

Silver lining: We can repurpose the phrase “the danger of Masai Ujiri” to describe Ujiri’s savvy trade negotiations with other teams.