Sudan Genocide, UAE and US Sport
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John Ashworth
Dec 19, 2025, 1:22:11 AM12/19/25
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While UAE Backs Sudan Genocide, NBA Cup Should Drop Emirates Sponsorship
The NBA’s credibility as a league that stands for justice and fairness
is at risk. Will they take actions to break off their connection to a
government that is funding and arming some of the worst atrocities in
the world?
John Prendergast
Dec 15, 2025
Common Dreams
The National Basketball Association, a league renowned for its support
of civil rights going back to the Bill Russell era, is now connected
to the former member of Sudan’s Parliament Siham Hassan Hasaballah,
who organized soup kitchens out of her home after the country’s most
recent war began in 2023. Just weeks ago, she was executed in Darfur
by a genocidal militia called the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF.
The NBA, a league that actively promoted racial justice in the
aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, is now connected to the Saudi
Maternity Hospital in Darfur, where RSF soldiers murdered hundreds of
patients and health workers last month. One video shot by RSF soldiers
themselves reveals a dozen victims lying on the floor, while an RSF
soldier kills an elderly survivor. Tedros Ghebreyesus, the Director of
the World Health Organization, was “appalled and deeply shocked by
reports of the tragic killing of more than 460 patients and
companions” at the hospital.
The NBA, a league undertaking major investments in youth programs in
Africa and around the world, is now connected to the world’s fastest
displacement crisis taking place now in Sudan, which is the “largest
humanitarian crisis ever recorded,” according to the International
Rescue Committee.
What’s the connection? The NBA has developed a deep and evolving
commercial partnership with the United Arab Emirates, which is
providing weapons and support to the RSF, that genocidal Sudanese
militia. The most visible and public manifestation of the relationship
is the Emirates NBA Cup, the increasingly popular in-season tournament
sponsored by the UAE’s flagship airline. The tournament’s final round
will take place this coming Tuesday in Las Vegas.
The NBA also has a deepening partnership with Rwanda, which over the
last two years has sent thousands of troops into neighboring
Democratic Republic of Congo, sponsored one of the deadliest militias
in all of Africa—the M23—in support of its Congo intervention, and
looted Congo’s valuable natural resources.
The league is now one degree of separation away from the two worst
abusers of human rights in all of Africa: the RSF and M23.
“Sportswashing” has a long history. The Roman Empire had its bread and
circuses. Hitler hosted the 1936 Summer Olympics, Mussolini hosted the
1934 World Cup, and Putin hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics. Saudi
Arabia owns the LIV golf league. They all recognized that attention
from their own misdeeds could easily be diverted by investing in
sporting events that entertain the masses.
To that end, the NBA relationship isn’t the only sportswashing the UAE
is engaged in, as the Emirati government and its subsidiary companies
are also sponsors of Formula One racing, US Open tennis, Ultimate
Fighting Championship mixed martial arts events, European soccer
teams, and National Football League teams, among others.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s deputy, Mark Tatum, has argued that the
NBA follows “directives and guidance” from the US government, and he
has told private audiences that if American policy changed, the NBA’s
action would change accordingly.
That change is underway. On November 12, Secretary of State Marco
Rubio stopped just short of saying the quiet part out loud: “”We know
who the parties are that are involved [in arming the RSF]... I can
just tell you at the highest levels of our government that case is
being made and that pressure is being applied to the relevant parties…
This needs to stop.“
At the moment, it remains unlikely that a US official would publicly
name the UAE as the largest supplier of weapons to the RSF. But it is
clear US policy toward the UAE’s arming of the RSF is shifting. NBA
Commissioner Silver has a duty to recognize that change, as his deputy
said, and “change accordingly.”
With the crisis in Sudan only getting worse, now is the time to act.
The activist campaign Speak Out On Sudan, coordinated by a number of
humanitarian and human rights organizations including Refugees
International and The Sentry, is calling on the NBA to make it clear
to its Emirati partners that as long as the UAE continues to fund and
arm the RSF, this will be the last Emirates NBA Cup. The NBA is one of
the most powerful sports leagues in the world—surely it can find
another sponsor.
There is precedent for this. Recently, partly in response to growing
activist pressure, the English Premier soccer club Arsenal announced
the end of its commercial partnership with Rwanda, which has invaded
neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo and is looting the Congo’s
mineral wealth. The German club Bayern Munich did the same earlier
this year. These teams have shown brand sensitivity and willingness to
change when called out for commercial arrangements that connect them
to horrific human rights abuses. The UAE’s support for a genocidal
Sudanese militia is no different.
The NBA’s credibility as a league that stands for justice and fairness
is at risk. Will they take actions to break off their connection to a
government that is funding and arming some of the worst atrocities in
the world? Or is “shut up and dribble,” the infamous line used by Fox
News host Laura Ingraham to LeBron James, going to be the way forward
for the NBA on this issue?
Global business dealings are complex, but surely genocide should be a
red line for the NBA. As this year’s Emirates NBA Cup concludes this
week, let’s hope it’s the last.
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/sudan-genocide-uae
END
______________________
John Ashworth
ashwor...@gmail.com
+254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile, WhatsApp and Signal)
PO Box 403 - 00206, Kiserian, Kenya
The NBA’s credibility as a league that stands for justice and fairness
is at risk. Will they take actions to break off their connection to a
government that is funding and arming some of the worst atrocities in
the world?
John Prendergast
Dec 15, 2025
Common Dreams
The National Basketball Association, a league renowned for its support
of civil rights going back to the Bill Russell era, is now connected
to the former member of Sudan’s Parliament Siham Hassan Hasaballah,
who organized soup kitchens out of her home after the country’s most
recent war began in 2023. Just weeks ago, she was executed in Darfur
by a genocidal militia called the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF.
The NBA, a league that actively promoted racial justice in the
aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, is now connected to the Saudi
Maternity Hospital in Darfur, where RSF soldiers murdered hundreds of
patients and health workers last month. One video shot by RSF soldiers
themselves reveals a dozen victims lying on the floor, while an RSF
soldier kills an elderly survivor. Tedros Ghebreyesus, the Director of
the World Health Organization, was “appalled and deeply shocked by
reports of the tragic killing of more than 460 patients and
companions” at the hospital.
The NBA, a league undertaking major investments in youth programs in
Africa and around the world, is now connected to the world’s fastest
displacement crisis taking place now in Sudan, which is the “largest
humanitarian crisis ever recorded,” according to the International
Rescue Committee.
What’s the connection? The NBA has developed a deep and evolving
commercial partnership with the United Arab Emirates, which is
providing weapons and support to the RSF, that genocidal Sudanese
militia. The most visible and public manifestation of the relationship
is the Emirates NBA Cup, the increasingly popular in-season tournament
sponsored by the UAE’s flagship airline. The tournament’s final round
will take place this coming Tuesday in Las Vegas.
The NBA also has a deepening partnership with Rwanda, which over the
last two years has sent thousands of troops into neighboring
Democratic Republic of Congo, sponsored one of the deadliest militias
in all of Africa—the M23—in support of its Congo intervention, and
looted Congo’s valuable natural resources.
The league is now one degree of separation away from the two worst
abusers of human rights in all of Africa: the RSF and M23.
“Sportswashing” has a long history. The Roman Empire had its bread and
circuses. Hitler hosted the 1936 Summer Olympics, Mussolini hosted the
1934 World Cup, and Putin hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics. Saudi
Arabia owns the LIV golf league. They all recognized that attention
from their own misdeeds could easily be diverted by investing in
sporting events that entertain the masses.
To that end, the NBA relationship isn’t the only sportswashing the UAE
is engaged in, as the Emirati government and its subsidiary companies
are also sponsors of Formula One racing, US Open tennis, Ultimate
Fighting Championship mixed martial arts events, European soccer
teams, and National Football League teams, among others.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s deputy, Mark Tatum, has argued that the
NBA follows “directives and guidance” from the US government, and he
has told private audiences that if American policy changed, the NBA’s
action would change accordingly.
That change is underway. On November 12, Secretary of State Marco
Rubio stopped just short of saying the quiet part out loud: “”We know
who the parties are that are involved [in arming the RSF]... I can
just tell you at the highest levels of our government that case is
being made and that pressure is being applied to the relevant parties…
This needs to stop.“
At the moment, it remains unlikely that a US official would publicly
name the UAE as the largest supplier of weapons to the RSF. But it is
clear US policy toward the UAE’s arming of the RSF is shifting. NBA
Commissioner Silver has a duty to recognize that change, as his deputy
said, and “change accordingly.”
With the crisis in Sudan only getting worse, now is the time to act.
The activist campaign Speak Out On Sudan, coordinated by a number of
humanitarian and human rights organizations including Refugees
International and The Sentry, is calling on the NBA to make it clear
to its Emirati partners that as long as the UAE continues to fund and
arm the RSF, this will be the last Emirates NBA Cup. The NBA is one of
the most powerful sports leagues in the world—surely it can find
another sponsor.
There is precedent for this. Recently, partly in response to growing
activist pressure, the English Premier soccer club Arsenal announced
the end of its commercial partnership with Rwanda, which has invaded
neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo and is looting the Congo’s
mineral wealth. The German club Bayern Munich did the same earlier
this year. These teams have shown brand sensitivity and willingness to
change when called out for commercial arrangements that connect them
to horrific human rights abuses. The UAE’s support for a genocidal
Sudanese militia is no different.
The NBA’s credibility as a league that stands for justice and fairness
is at risk. Will they take actions to break off their connection to a
government that is funding and arming some of the worst atrocities in
the world? Or is “shut up and dribble,” the infamous line used by Fox
News host Laura Ingraham to LeBron James, going to be the way forward
for the NBA on this issue?
Global business dealings are complex, but surely genocide should be a
red line for the NBA. As this year’s Emirates NBA Cup concludes this
week, let’s hope it’s the last.
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/sudan-genocide-uae
END
______________________
John Ashworth
ashwor...@gmail.com
+254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile, WhatsApp and Signal)
PO Box 403 - 00206, Kiserian, Kenya
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