Masai Ujiri asserts that he was the one assaulted during an incident with an Oakland sheriff’s deputy at the end of Game 6 of the NBA Finals last June.

The Raptors president, in a response to a federal lawsuit filed in the United States in February, states that deputy Alan Strickland “assaulted him, forcefully shoving him back once, then twice” in a brief altercation at Oakland’s Oracle Arena, minutes after Toronto won the first championship in franchise history.

Ujiri’s contention is laid out in a 15-page response filed Thursday with the United States District Court, Northern District of California Oakland division, by the law firm Cotchett, Pitre and McCarthy of Burlingame, Calif.

The altercation — which began when Ujiri tried to join the Raptors on the court for the presentation of the Larry O’Brien trophy — was brief, the response reads: “Mr. Ujiri then shoved Mr. Strickland in the chest. Other than the shoves, the two men did not have any further physical contact with each other. The entire encounter between Mr. Strickland and Mr. Ujiri was brief. Mr. Ujiri was eventually escorted to the court where he joined his team, accepted the championship trophy, and gave a live on-camera interview.”

Ujiri’s legal team responded to a lawsuit alleging the Raptors president struck Strickland in the face during the June 13 encounter. Strickland, who claimed Ujiri didn’t have the proper credentials to join the celebration, has not returned to work since the incident after the deciding game between the Raptors and Golden State Warriors.

The NBA, also named in the suit, said in its response that “(Strickland’s) injuries, if any, were caused by (Strickland’s) own aggressive acts and reasonable and justified acts in self-defense resulting directly from Plaintiffs’ aggression.”

The league also argued there were inherent risks in Strickland’s work as a security official at the game: “Plaintiffs knew of the risks of injury and damage involved in their actions and conduct, and with full knowledge of such risks and appreciating the dangers thereof nevertheless voluntarily assumed such risks.”

Ujiri’s lawyers also made that point: “The claims made in the Complaint are barred, in whole or in part, because Plaintiff Alan Strickland’s alleged injuries arose from a risk inherent in the occupation of security guard.”

Strickland’s lawsuit came after the Alameda County district attorney declined to charge Ujiri following its investigation, saying the matter should be handled “outside of the courtroom.” That announcement came in October, the same day the Raptors received their championship rings in an emotional ceremony at Scotiabank Arena.

When it was first launched, Ujiri called the suit a “malicious” act on the deputy’s part.

“It’s malicious in a way,” Ujiri told reporters in Dakar, Senegal, where he was attending a basketball event when news of the civil suit first broke. “To me it’s incredible that things play out like that. I think something incredible was taken away from me and I will never forget it.

“It is one of the things that drives me to win another championship, because I want to be able to celebrate a championship the right way. This thing will be settled. The truth will come out. The truth will come out of this.”

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Fox News affiliate KTVU in Oakland reported on its website last month, citing court records, that Strickland was charged with felony insurance fraud and making false statements on March 31, 1994 and pleaded no contest to misdemeanour insurance fraud on Dec. 7, 2005.

“The false statement charge, a misdemeanour, was dropped in exchange for the no-contest plea, which has the same legal effect as pleading guilty,” KTVU reported. “The fraud charge was discovered when Strickland was applying to be a San Mateo police officer in 2005 — a job he did not get, KTVU learned after reviewing court documents and investigators’ notes at the time.”

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