As Sudan burns, the NBA’s embrace of the UAE shows how sport enables atrocity
While UAE-backed forces are accused of mass killings in Sudan, the NBA is deepening its partnership with the controversial Gulf state,This is what sportswashing looks likeAs paramilitary fighters from the brutal Rapid Support Forces (RSF) overran the largest city in western Sudan – carrying out mass executions, rapes and ethnic cleansing with weapons supplied by the United Arab Emirates – the NBA’s annual in-season tournament, the Emirates NBA Cup, tipped off on Halloween night, proudly sponsored by the very same Gulf state,The tournament is the most visible example of the NBA’s expanding partnership with the UAE – a partnership that includes annual preseason games in Abu Dhabi, a lucrative sponsorship deal with Emirates airlines, and plans for a new NBA Global Academy at NYU’s Abu Dhabi campus,Larger deals are expected to follow,The NBA is reportedly seeking Abu Dhabi’s investment in a new NBA-branded European league, which could launch as early as 2027.
This blossoming partnership has already paid dividends for both sides: the NBA has gained a deep-pocketed investor, while the UAE has found a willing partner to help further normalize its autocratic regime, especially now that it is facing accusations of inflaming genocide in Sudan.For its part, the NBA says it is following advice from the US government on its relationship with the UAE.“Basketball has a century-long history in the Middle East, and our activities in the UAE – which include bringing live NBA games to fans in the region and teaching the fundamentals and values of the game to thousands of boys and girls annually – are consistent with our efforts to engage fans and aspiring players in more than 200 countries and territories around the world,” a league spokesperson told the Guardian.“We will continue to rely on US state department guidance everywhere we operate.”Beneath its image of opulence and modernity, the UAE enforces silence with an iron fist.
Dissidents and human rights advocates languish in prisons on arbitrary charges, punished for daring to oppose the state,The nation’s economic prosperity rests on the backs of migrant laborers, who make up 88% of the workforce and who toil with few rights and little recourse against abuse,The UAE’s influence extends into bloodier terrain beyond its borders,A growing body of evidence links the Emirati government to Sudan’s RSF, the paramilitary faction behind many of the atrocities and crimes against humanity being committed in Sudan,Sudan’s civil war began in April 2023, when tensions between the Sudanese military (SAF), under army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF paramilitary group, led by his former deputy chief Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti, plunged the country into a state of all out war.
Urban centers such as the capital Khartoum were transformed into battlefields, destroying critical infrastructure and creating the world’s largest displacement crisis,As the civil war approaches its third year, death toll estimates vary widely,The United Nations and other aid agencies have recorded 20,000 confirmed deaths,A more recent report by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s Sudan Research Group claimed that more than 61,000 people have died in Khartoum state, 26,000 as a direct result of the violence,Meanwhile, former US special envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello claimed last year that up to 150,000 people had been killed.
The civil war has also been marked by horrific atrocities such as sexual violence, torture, mutilation and ethnic cleansing,This was further underscored when the Sudanese military’s last remaining stronghold in Darfur fell to the RSF recently,The militia embarked on a mass killing spree so severe that images of the blood saturating the ground could be seen from space,Since the start of the conflict, the Emirates have helped fund and arm the paramilitary group, effectively sponsoring the group’s war crimes and atrocities,Sudan’s military government even brought a case to the International Court of Justice accusing the UAE of genocidal complicity in West Darfur.
Despite substantial evidence to the contrary, the UAE continues to deny any role in the conflict, carrying on as though business were proceeding as usual.In the past few months, the UAE has staged the Asia Cup in cricket, NBA preseason matchups, a Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event, and Formula 1’s year-end race, which featured a performance by Katy Perry.Next come the Abu Dhabi HSBC golf championship and a major padel tournament.Outside of Grammy-award winning rapper Macklemore, who canceled his Dubai concert in protest last year, no other entity attempted to distance itself from the controversial Gulf state.The UAE has reaped enormous benefits from the sports world’s apathy.
Abu Dhabi’s investment in Manchester City FC was a masterstroke, recasting the Al Nahyan ruling family as savvy investors rather than ruthless autocrats.Its stake in cricket carries a diplomatic edge, given the sport’s popularity across South and Southeast Asia, the same regions that supply much of the UAE’s migrant labor force.Meanwhile, investments in artificial wave pools, tennis and motorsports have broadened its growing sports tourism strategy.And yet, the ongoing massacre in Darfur seems to have garnered some rare bad publicity for the UAE.Some Manchester City fans have even condemned their owner for “his country’s role in the Sudan conflict, where civilians continue to suffer.
”The silence around the NBA’s new partnership with the UAE is concerning.One of the few to call out the NBA for normalizing the UAE’s role in Sudan is Refugees International, an NGO that advocates for the rights of displaced people.“The Emirates NBA Cup COULD bring out the best in everyone.Instead, it’s being used to sportswash atrocities fueled + funded by the UAE in Sudan,” read the tweet.“The NBA shouldn’t let itself be a pawn in the UAE’s normalization of famine + genocide.
”Nevertheless, sports teams and organizations rarely sever lucrative partnerships without resistance.At FC Bayern Munich’s annual general assembly last week, lawyer and activist Michael Ott, who previously led a successful campaign to end Bayern’s sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways, was heckled by attendees after raising concerns about the club’s new agreement with the UAE’s Emirates Airlines.Ott accused Bayern of “buttressing the image of sketchy political regimes that contradict our values” and warned that the deal with Emirates risked causing “lasting damage to the reputation of our club”.For his remarks, he was openly mocked by board chairman and CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen.Despite ending previous sponsorship agreements with Qatar and Rwanda, the fact that Bayern Munich’s leadership refused to budge on its ties to the UAE further emphasizes how effective the Gulf state’s brand management and public relations strategies have been.
Don’t expect the NBA, which also maintains partnership with other autocrats like Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, is unlikely to speak out about the UAE’s human rights record … but imagine if they did.Imagine if genocide, war crimes and entrenched authoritarianism were red lines for global sports.Karim Zidan writes a regular newsletter on the intersection of sports and authoritarian politics.He is also the Sports & Dictators fellow at the Human Rights Foundation.
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