In response to two senators who called on the NBA to reevaluate a partnership with Rwanda and its dictator Paul Kagame, deputy commissioner Mark Tatum cited the removal of a military-backed team from the Basketball Africa League as evidence the NBA has adapted to changing U.S. policies toward the East African nation.
In a letter directed to Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Tatum stated that after the U.S. imposed economic sanctions on the Rwandan Defence Force early this year, the military-funded Armée Patriotique Rwandaise team "was withdrawn" from the BAL. Tatum wrote that APR would remain "ineligible to compete in the BAL while these sanctions remain in effect."
Tatum previously has said the NBA follows the lead of the U.S. government in deciding where it's "appropriate" to conduct business internationally.
Merkley and Blackburn had written to NBA commissioner Adam Silver last week that they were "increasingly alarmed by the NBA's deepening relationship with Rwanda." In addition to asking the league to answer a question about APR, the Senators posed several other questions, including whether the NBA had a "red line for accepting money from foreign governments that commit human rights abuses."
Tatum didn't address that question or others directly. He wrote that, "Our mission is to inspire and connect people through basketball, both in the United States and more than 200 other countries and territories around the world where we engage with our fans. Our business around the world is not one-size-fits-all, but in all instances we follow U.S. policy in deciding where and how to operate. And we condemn human rights violations wherever they occur."
Tatum concluded his letter by stating, "Going forward, we will continue to adjust to changed circumstances as U.S. policy requires."
Kagame's government has been accused by the U.S., U.K. and other countries, as well as a string of human rights organizations, of abuses ranging from imprisonment, torture and murder of political opponents to the funding of child soldiers in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.
Last week, the U.S. government announced new sanctions on Rwanda over its ongoing support of the M23, a rebel group that Merkley and Blackburn said had "summarily executed hundreds of civilians, committed mass rape, recruited child soldiers, and tortured civilians" in the DRC.
The same senators wrote Silver two years ago in response to an ESPN article that detailed the NBA's embrace of Kagame, the country's leader since 1994. Rwanda, one of the poorest countries in the world, built a 10,000-seat arena in its capital of Kigali, and that facility has been central to the NBA's expansion into Africa.
Early last year, the DRC called on the NBA, Formula 1 and major international soccer clubs to end their multimillion-dollar partnerships with Rwanda.
Months later, amid pressure from fans and media, Bayern Munich and Arsenal said they were ending their sponsorship deals with Rwanda.