US Senator Slams NBA's Ties with Rwandan Dictator Paul Kagame: 'Putting Profits Over Principles'

Two U.S. senators have accused the NBA of “putting profits above principles,” detailed in a letter sent to Commissioner Adam Silver on Tuesday.

The letter to the NBA commissioner from Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) came after ESPN published a story detailing the NBA's ties to Rwandan dictator Paul Kagame.

The league sought the cooperation of President Kagame to establish the Basketball Africa League, the first league outside North America, but the ESPN article noted that the NBA had to ignore the human rights abuses perpetrated by the dictator in Rwanda.

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Blackburn and Merkley's letter said the NBA has “long positioned itself as a beacon of social justice, yet continues to have ties to dictators and tyrants.”

“Anyone who dares to question Kagame's rule, be it an opposition candidate or a free press, will be jailed, disappeared or brutally murdered,” the letter, reported by ESPN, said.

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The senators also questioned the NBA's long-controversial relationship with China, with NBA owners reportedly having more than $10 billion invested in the country and former NBA center Enes Kanter-Freedom openly mocking the NBA's ties.

Cantor Freedom has previously accused Silver of cozying up to the Chinese Communist Party and turning a blind eye to human rights abuses and treatment of Uighur Muslims in China.

In the letter, both Blackburn and Merkley asked Silver to answer a series of questions, including outlining “the scope of the NBA's relationship with the Government of Rwanda” and explaining how the league will improve the lives of the Rwandan people.

Petroleos de Luanda's Carlos Morais (number 6) poses for a photograph after his team won the 2024 Basketball African League Championship against Al Ahly Lee at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda on June 1, 2024. (Armand Lenoir/NBAE via Getty Images)

“My conversations with Paul Kagame were all about improving the lives of the people of Rwanda,” NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum told ESPN. “How can we use basketball to create, how can we inspire, how can we connect people to improve the lives of the people of Rwanda?”

Despite what the NBA is doing in its discussions with Kagame, Blackburn and Merkley don't think negotiating with dictators is a good business plan.

“Working with dictators and brutal regimes should not be the NBA's business model,” the letter concluded. “Instead, the league should use its influence to advocate for governance reforms, including respect for the rule of law.”

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks during the announcement of the NBA-sponsored Basketball Africa League (BAL) at the Museum of Black Civilizations in Dakar on July 30, 2019. (SEYLLOU/AFP via Getty Images)

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The Basketball Africa League was created in 2019 by the NBA and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), with the season running from March to May. The current format has 12 teams, and since its inception, a total of 24 teams from 19 countries have joined the league.

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