According to ESPN's Mark Fainaru-Wada, the two U.S. officials sent a letter Tuesday to NBA commissioner Adam Silver accusing the league of “making profit over purpose,” in response to an ESPN story highlighting the league's business ties to Rwandan 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 to “develop relationships with dictators and depots. ” like Kagame.
The senators cited an ESPN article published in July that described how the NBA developed a relationship with Kagame. This was important for the NBA to launch its first league outside of North America, the Basketball Africa League, in the spring of 2021.
For our answer @espn the story about @NBArelations with dictators @PaulKagameThe senses. @MarshaBlackburn again @JeffMerkley sent a letter to Commish Adam Silver demanding answers about the collusion, accusing the NBA of “putting profit over purpose:”
– Mark Fainaru-Wada (@markfwespn) August 27, 2024
However, it also forced the NBA to turn a blind eye to ongoing human rights abuses. In the letter, the senators wrote, “Anyone who questions Kagame's rule – be it the opposition or the media – has been arrested, disappeared or brutally killed.”
In addition, the senators questioned the NBA's business in China, which ESPN previously investigated. The senators asked Silver to respond within one week to a series of questions, according to Fainaru-Wada.
US senators want NBA commissioner Adam Silver to reveal the league's relationship with the Rwandan government
The senators want Silver to “explain the extent of the NBA's relationship with the Rwandan government” and explain the steps the league is taking to improve the lives of the Rwandan people.
This includes “those subject to human rights abuses” by Kagame's regime. Kagame has been the president of Rwanda since 2000. He was re-elected last month with 99% of the vote.
NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum previously told ESPN: “The conversations we had with Paul Kagame were about improving the lives of the people of Rwanda. How can we create, how can we inspire and connect people through the game of basketball to make the lives of Rwandans better.”
Per Fainaru-Wada, the senators concluded their letter to Silver by saying, “Playing football with dictators and brutal regimes should not be the NBA's business model. Instead, this unit should use its power to promote changes in governance, including respect for the rule of law.”
Cooperation with Rwanda🇷🇼 is helping Paul Kagame break away from his oppressive government,” US Diplomat Elizabeth Shackelford argued. @F1 again @NBA he should not work with him pic.twitter.com/qLVRGGsES
– Xtrafrica (@xtr_africa) August 27, 2024
The US State Department has repeatedly issued reports that Kagame's government is guilty of human rights violations. Rights violations include the arrest, torture and killing of political opponents and the financing of child soldiers in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Kagame has always denied these allegations.
“He is a dictator, and has been for decades, a Putin-style dictator,” Elizabeth Shackelford, a former US spokeswoman who spent more than a decade in Africa, told ESPN last month. “I would like the NBA to explain to us why it is OK to work with someone who has caused this kind of suffering, in his country and beyond.”
According to Fainaru-Wada, all violations in the US State Department's annual human rights reports since 2000, Kagame's first year as president. Each report describes Rwanda's poor record on human rights.
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