The Alameda County Sheriff's Office reportedly showed a Canadian newspaper photographs of a courtside confrontation between one of its deputies and the Toronto Raptors team president after Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
In the follow-up to a story NBC Bay Area broke last week, the Globe and Mail reported one of the images shows Masai Ujiri with clenched fists, and then he appears to hit the deputy in the face.
NBC Bay Area's exclusive video shows the men face to face after the Raptors defeated the Golden State Warriors to clinch the NBA title at Oracle Arena.
Since then, some witnesses have said Ujiri did not strike the deputy in the face. The sheriff's office said it showed the newspaper the images to prove a crime did in fact occur.
Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly told NBC Bay Area Ujiri hit the deputy in the face with both fists in a shoving motion.
"Oracle security cam and police body cam clearly shows our deputy was hit in the face," Kelly said. "(Ujiri) tried to force his way past our deputies, and the deputy did his job exactly the way he's supposed to, to protect the court, especially at a high-profile event of national security significance.
"Mr. Ujiri came back and in a very aggressive manner confronted our deputy, and at that point, using both his fists in a shoving motion, struck our deputy in the jaw," Kelly said.
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The deputy has said Ujiri did not have the proper credentials to be on the court. He also said Ujiri shoved and hit him, ultimately leaving him with a concussion.
The sheriff's office says Ujiri did show an NBA badge, but it wasn't the proper credential.
The deputy's body camera switched off when Ujiri allegedly made contact with the deputy, according to the sheriff's office, which is expected to file a report of the incident soon.
The District Attorney's Office ultimately will decide whether or not to charge Ujiri with a crime.
