U.S. Senators Ask NBA About Relationship With Rwanda Dictator

According to ESPN’s Mark Fainaru-Wada, two U.S. senators sent a letter Tuesday to NBA commissioner Adam Silver accusing the league of “putting profit over principle,” in response to an ESPN story that highlighted the league’s business relationship with Rwanda dictator Paul Kagame.

The bipartisan letter, signed by Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), says the NBA “has long positioned itself as a beacon of social justice” but instead has continued “developing relationships with dictators and despots” like Kagame.

The senators cited an ESPN article published in July that described how the NBA built a relationship with Kagame. This was pivotal to the NBA launching its first league outside of North America, the Basketball Africa League, in the spring of 2021.

In response to our @espn story about the @NBA's relationship with dictator @PaulKagame, Sens. @MarshaBlackburn and @JeffMerkley sent a letter to Commish Adam Silver seeking answers about the partnership, accusing the NBA of "putting profit over principle:" https://t.co/3PPPJZjnot

— Mark Fainaru-Wada (@markfwespn) August 27, 2024

However, it also forced the NBA to ignore persistent human rights abuses. In the letter, the senators wrote, “Anyone who dares to question Kagame’s rule — whether it be opposition candidates or the free press — is jailed, disappeared or brutally murdered.”

Furthermore, the senators questioned the NBA’s business in China, which ESPN previously investigated as well. The senators asked Silver to respond within one week to a series of questions, per Fainaru-Wada.

U.S. senators want NBA commissioner Adam Silver to outline the league’s relationship with the Rwandan government

The senators want Silver to “outline the scope of the NBA’s relationship with the Rwandan government” and to describe the steps the league is taking to improve the lives of Rwandan people.

This includes “those subject to human rights abuses” by Kagame’s regime. Kagame has been Rwanda’s president since 2000. He was re-elected last month with 99% of the vote.

NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum previously told ESPN: “The conversations that we’ve had with Paul Kagame have all been about improving the lives of Rwandan people. How can we create, how can we inspire and connect people through the game of basketball to make Rwandan peoples’ lives better.”

Per Fainaru-Wada, the senators concluded their letter to Silver by saying, “Playing ball with dictators and brutal regimes should not be the NBA’s business model. Instead, the league should use its influence to advocate for governance reforms, including respect for the rule of law.”

Partnering with Rwanda🇷🇼 helps Paul Kagame get away with his repressive government," says US Diplomat Elizabeth Shackelford, arguing that @F1 and @NBA should not work with him pic.twitter.com/qLVRGRGsES

— Xtrafrica (@xtr_africa) August 27, 2024

The U.S. State Department repeatedly has cited multiple reports that Kagame’s government is responsible for human rights violations. Violated rights include the imprisonment, torture and murder of political opponents and the funding of child soldiers in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Kagame has consistently denied the allegations.

“He is, and has been for decades, a Putin-style dictator,” Elizabeth Shackelford, a former U.S. diplomat who spent more than a decade in Africa, told ESPN last month. “I’d like for the NBA to explain to us why it’s OK partnering with someone who individually created this kind of suffering, both in his country and beyond.”

According to Fainaru-Wada, every violation of the U.S. State Department’s annual human rights reports dates back to 2000, Kagame’s first year as president. Each report describes Rwanda’s poor record on human rights.