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Best moment of my life ruined by racism

As a child growing up on the outdoor basketball courts in northern Nigeria, Masai Ujiri dreamed of one day winning an NBA championship.

He made the trip to America in high school but it quickly became apparent that his talent was not on the level of compatriot Hakeem Olajuwon and after an uneventful college career and stint as a professional coach in Europe, he was back in Nigeria as well worked as a youth coach.

But a fateful trip back to the US with a young Nigerian player opened a door to the NBA, where he got an unpaid scouting job at Orlando Magic.

He quickly turned the opportunity into a paid appearance with the Denver Nuggets as an international scout, and after four years in that role was hired by the Toronto Raptors, where he began as director of global scouting, but was promoted to assistant general manager in 2008.

Again, it was the nuggets that made Ujiri’s next breakthrough possible when he took over the leadership of the team as general manager. In 2013 – after building a team with 57 wins two years before star striker Carmelo Anthony left – he was named NBA Manager of the Year.

The Raptors wanted her husband back and gave him a $ 15 million deal to return. He immediately built the only Canadian team in the NBA into a multi-year contender for the Eastern Conference. In 2016, his contract was extended to serve as the team’s president.

But a third straight playoff loss to LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers forced Ujiri to take drastic action. He fired Dwane Casey, acting NBA coach of the year, and sent the franchise’s most popular player to San Antonio in exchange for a player, Kawhi Leonard, who might be leaving after just one season.

The rest is history when Leonard led the Raptors to last year’s championship, but Ujiri’s crowning moment was stolen from him by a racially motivated attack.

When time ran out after winning a 114-110 title against the Golden State Warriors in Oakland, Ujiri left his seat and walked off the field until qualified personnel could enter.

New video released this week showed Ujiri starting to pull his security pass from his suit jacket when he came across a police officer guarding the entrance to the court.

The President of the Raptors was punched in the chest and, in a shocking moment, pushed backwards. Ujiri returned the favor before others intervened and led him into the plaza where veteran guard Kyle Lowry hugged him.

But you can see in photos how Ujiri is complimented by both his team and his opponents for how the clash spoiled the moment for him.

Instead of a big smile, the 50-year-old’s expression is an expression of shock – and that shock only worsened when Ujiri discovered after the incident that he was being sued by the MP.

Alan Strickland filed a lawsuit in February alleging that Ujiri beat him and caused him permanent physical and mental injuries.

The footage of the post-game moment that Ujiri pronounces has only now been made.

Ujiri, who countered Strickland, said in a Raptors statement that he believed the incident was racially motivated.

“Unfortunately, the video shows how terribly I was treated last year by a police officer in the middle of my team, the Toronto Raptors, who won their first World Cup,” said Ujiri.

“It was an exciting moment for our organization, for our players, for our city, for our country and for me personally given my long professional journey to the NBA.

“Unfortunately, at that moment, I was reminded that, despite all my hard work and success, there are some people, including those who are supposed to protect us, who always see me as something not worthy of respectful engagement. And there’s only one indisputable reason why that is – because I’m black. “

Ujiri’s counterclaim, filed in the US District Court in Oakland, California, alleges that Strickland faked the encounter and attempted to portray Ujiri as “the original attacker and a person of natural violence.”

It calls Strickland’s account “a complete fiction” that has been refuted by video footage.

“What makes me sad about this ordeal is that the only reason I am getting the justice I deserve right now is because of my success,” said Ujiri.

“Being president of an NBA team gave me access to the resources that made sure I could claim and fight for my justice. So many of my brothers and sisters have had, have not and do not have the same access to the resources that have insured my justice. And that’s why Black Lives is Matter. “

Ujiri concluded his statement by citing the names of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Elijah McClain, black Americans who died at the hands of police officers and whose deaths fueled the Black Lives Matter movement.

Ujiri said it was important to seek justice for these three, “for far too many black lives who matter” and “for black people around the world who need our voice and compassion to save their lives. “

– with AFP

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