U.S. senators call on NBA to reevaluate Rwanda partnership

Two U.S. senators called on the NBA to reevaluate a partnership with Rwanda and its dictator Paul Kagame, citing the American government's changing policy toward the small African nation, which has been accused of widespread human rights abuses. In a letter sent Friday to commissioner Adam Silver, Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., wrote that they are "increasingly alarmed by the NBA's deepening relationship with Rwanda" and said the league "risks becoming complicit in sportswashing," where governments or companies use sports to distract from human rights abuses, corruption and other activities. The senators said the partnership is "contrary to the spirit of American sports." In a statement to ESPN, NBA spokesman Mike Bass said, "We received the letter on Friday and are in the process of responding to it." The same senators wrote Silver two years ago in response to an ESPN article that detailed the NBA's embrace of Kagame, the country's leader since 1994. Rwanda, one of the poorest countries in the world, built a 10,000-seat arena in its capital of Kigali, and that facility has been central to the NBA's expansion into Africa. Kagame's government has been accused by the U.S., UK and other countries, as well as a string of human rights organizations, of abuses ranging from imprisonment, torture and murder of political opponents to the funding of child soldiers in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. Just last week, Robert Kabera, a former Rwandan soldier who became an outspoken critic of Kagame and had fled the country in 2020, was found beheaded in Uganda. Human rights organizations have called for an investigation into whether the killing was politically motivated. The NBA's position on its partnership with Rwanda, as expressed by NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum both to ESPN and then to the senators two years ago, is that the league has "[followed] the lead of the U.S. government as to where it is appropriate to engage in business around the world. "If American policies were to change regarding business activities in and relating to Rwanda ... our actions would of course change accordingly," Tatum wrote to the senators in 2024. The senators now say the policies of the U.S., UK and other European nations have "shifted markedly" toward Rwanda. The letter cited Rwanda's role in fomenting the conflict in the DRC, including through deployment of 18,000 troops and its command of the M23, a rebel group "which has summarily executed hundreds of civilians, committed mass rape, recruited child soldiers, and tortured civilians," the senators wrote. At the end of their letter, the senators asked the NBA to answer a series of questions, the first of which read: "What is the NBA's red line for accepting money from foreign governments that commit human rights abuses?" Kagame has said his country is using sports to bolster its economy and its place on the world stage. This month, Rwanda signed a 10-year deal to bring Formula 1 racing back to Africa, with the country expected to host its first race early in the next decade. A year ago, the NBA's LA Clippers and NFL's Los Angeles Rams announced multiyear deals in which the Rwanda government would pay the teams. "Visit Rwanda" -- the marketing slogan for the Rwanda Development Board -- became the exclusive jersey patch for the Clippers, while the slogan is advertised in the Rams' home, SoFi Stadium. The NBA launched a league in Africa in 2021 and its business there was valued at nearly $1 billion five years ago. Rwanda pays the NBA $6 million to $7 million per year to host some of the Basketball Africa League championships and display "Team Rwanda" on jerseys, as well as other marketing ties. Early last year, the DRC called on the NBA, Formula 1 and major international soccer clubs to end their multimillion-dollar partnerships with Rwanda. At the time, an F1 spokesman wrote in an email to ESPN: "We have been closely monitoring the developments relating to the DRC and Rwanda and continue to do so. We assess any potential request in detail and any future decisions would be based on the full information and what is in the best interests of our sport and our values." Months later, amid pressure from fans and media, Bayern Munich and Arsenal said they were ending their multimillion-dollar sponsorship deals with Rwanda.