U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) earlier this week expressed “deep concern” about the National Basketball Association’s (NBA’s) growing relationship with Rwanda President Paul Kagame, who has a record of human rights abuses.
“It seems that the NBA — which has long positioned itself as a beacon of social justice — is choosing to continue developing relationships with dictators and despots, all in the name of putting profit over principle,” wrote Sen. Blackburn and U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) in an Aug. 27 letter sent to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “At no time — and especially when strongmen are on the rise across the globe — should the NBA ignore human rights atrocities in the name of profit.”
The lawmakers pointed out that Kagame has ruled Rwanda for over 20 years with impunity, restricting freedom of expression and internet freedom, and retaliating against anyone who questions his rule — whether it be opposition candidates or the free press. They are jailed, disappear, or are brutally assassinated, they wrote.
“President Kagame’s government has also allegedly provided military support to M23, a rebel group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has caused tens of thousands of Congolese people to flee their homes in fear,” Sens. Blackburn and Merkley wrote. “This group has been accused of horrific abuses, including recruiting child soldiers, using rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war, and torturing civilians.”
The Rwandan government is also known for murdering, kidnapping, and intimidating dissidents living overseas, including those in the United States. “The NBA should not remain silent as Kagame exports his authoritarianism,” they wrote.
Nevertheless, the NBA’s relationship with Kagame began in 2018, when Silver reportedly was shooting free throws with him in Kigali. The league then gave Kagame advice and support to build a new $104 million arena to establish the Basketball Africa League, expanding the NBA’s presence on the continent, and hosted him stateside at several NBA-sponsored events.
The senators also expressed concern about the league’s engagement with Chinese Communist Party officials.
“Our concern about the NBA’s business relationship with a government with a demonstrated record of human rights abuses and repressive behavior is not limited to Rwanda,” they wrote. “The league’s activities in China, engagement with Chinese Communist Party officials, and policies on products made with forced labor remain troubling.”
Sen. Blackburn and her colleague requested that Silver outline the scope of the NBA’s relationship with the Rwandan government and answer several related questions by Sept. 3, including what steps the NBA is taking to improve the lives of the Rwandan people, including those subject to human rights abuses by Kagame’s government.
“Playing ball with dictators and brutal regimes should not be the NBA’s business model,” they wrote. “The NBA should also put energy into making life better for all Rwandans, not just those who finance the league’s expansion.”