On 5 December, the first anniversary of Mandela’s passing, Toronto Raptors President and General Manager Masai Ujiri honoured his hero alongside some of the world’s biggest sports icons at a prestigious evening event, Giant of Africa.
“Celebrating him tonight means everything,” Ujiri said. “It’s been one year since he’s passed and he’s not forgotten. He lives on.”
“When you think about a person and the person is facing injustice, conflict, human rights, poverty, diseases, whatever it is, somebody who in his own personality was fearless, somebody that was fierce in some ways, passionate, showed so much love, selflessness, all of that stuff combined was one person, I don't think you can quantify that,” Ujiri said of Mandela.
“It’s very, very rare to see. For young kids, this is what this man did. In terms of trying to put all of those things together to deal with people and express himself…it’s pretty remarkable.
“He loved sports,” Ujiri continued. “He believed sports had the power to change the world. Sports were so powerful. This was a political person. This was a lawyer. This was somebody who was in a different field and to feel that way about sports, I think it’s good because it shows what kind of heart he had.”
Ujiri hosted a benefit in Mandela's honour in June, but wanted to mark the anniversary of his passing as well as do something during the NBA season. While the Raptors couldn’t have scripted LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers coming to town on the anniversary of Mandela’s death, they did expect to be on the court at the Air Canada Centre. In fact, they requested it.
“I wanted to do something at a game,” Ujiri said. “They were kind enough to give us a game December 5th, the day he [Mandela] passed, and to give us a great game, it even creates an even bigger atmosphere. I want this thing to be every year because he did have an effect on us and will have an effect on us forever.”
As the first Africa-born general manager of a North American professional sports team, Ujiri understands the position he is in. When he speaks, people listen, so he chooses to speak candidly and passionately about the things he believes in. With a hero like Mandela, Ujiri wouldn’t be able to live any other way.
To view more video coverage of the event, and to browse a gallery of images, please visit the official Giant of Africa website.
