TORONTO -- Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri is urging everyone, from world leaders down, to have strong conversations about race as a way forward from racial tensions across Canada and the United States.
In an interview with CTV National News Chief News Anchor and Senior Editor Lisa LaFlamme on Monday, Ujiri stressed the need for conversation as protests escalate across the United States in response to the killing of George Floyd, who died at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis, Minn.
âItâs time for us to talk,â Ujiri said. âItâs time for us to say whatâs on our minds, and I donât know why it has gotten to this and all of us are to blame that weâve let it come to this.â
Protesters have been taking to the streets around the world in the wake of Floydâs death, in which a police officer pressed against his neck for more than eight minutes, while three other officers stood by. The incident was caught on camera.
âWhen I saw that video, Lisa, I donât know how those policemen can actually watch,â Ujiri said. âThatâs broad daylight murder. Thatâs murder and those three guys there have to be held accountable for that too.â
The three officers were fired, while Derek Chauvin, the officer holding his knee against Floydâs neck, has been charged with third-degree murder. On Monday, a medical examiner classified Floydâs death as a homicide, adding that his heart stopped as police compressed his neck.
Ujiri said the Floydâs death has become âpolarizedâ because of âbad leadership,â but when asked about U.S. President Donald Trumpâs response to the crisis, he turned his attention to other leaders.
âIâm more focused on other leaders talking, other leaders standing up, because weâve heard the same thing over and over again,â he said. âMore people have to come out and talk about what heâs doing. People have to come out and do it. We have to do it. If not, where is it going to go?â
âAll leaders have to speak, especially white leaders. Thatâs the honest truth because weâre all in positions where we can influence, where we change things, where we can come out and talk about it without being scared.â
UJIRIâS EXPERIENCE WITH POLICE
Ujiri said he is now rethinking his own experiences with police officers.
Last June, Ujiri was involved in an altercation with an officer while he was trying to get on the court following Torontoâs Game 6 victory in the NBA Finals. Ujiri said the officer -- identified as a 20-year veteran of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office -- stopped him âaggressivelyâ from joining the team on the court following the teamâs championship win.
Ujiri said at the time, he didnât think the altercation had anything to do with race, but heâs since had a chance to think about what transpired and he does think there may have been some racism involved.
âI canât talk about it much, but after everything thatâs gone on, yes, I do ask that question that if it was somebody white would he have been stopped,â he said.
Still, Ujiri stresses that his incident pales in comparison to what Floydâs family is going through.
âWe shouldnât even talking about this. It doesnât even compare to what happened to these people,â he said.
âI lost a moment, itâs gone. Weâll win another championship and Iâll find that moment. That guy is gone, (his) family lost somebody. They lost somebody. Thatâs not right.â