The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is financially supporting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan who are committing war crimes against non-Arab African indigenous groups in Darfur.
The NBA Cup's title sponsor is Emirates Airlines. The NBA and the RSF both accept money from the UAE.
The UAE needs to be pressured into stopping their support for genocide in Darfur. Tell the NBA that sportswashing UAE support for genocide is not why we are fans.
Phoenix Suns rookie center Khaman Maluach was born in Sudan but grew up in a refugee camp in Uganda. NBA legend Luol Deng was also born in Sudan and moved to Egypt as a boy to escape the Second Sudanese Civil War. Deng's teammate at Duke University is LA Lakers coach JJ Redick. South Sudan's national basketball team competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics and nearly beat the USA in an exhibition game before the tournament.
From the linked article:
When the militia seized El Fasher from the Sudanese Armed Forces last week, it immediately began committing mass executions: massacring hundreds of people at the last functioning hospital, burning people alive, forcing men to dig pits in which they were buried alive, going house to house and shooting those they found, executing people with disabilities unable to flee.
In a little more than a week, evidence suggests, the militia has killed and sexually assaulted civilians in numbers that defy comprehension. Its fighters continue to target African indigenous groups, as they have since the war began. Human Rights Watch, citing a U.N. panel, reported that in 2023, the militia targeted Masalit civilians in the West Darfur city of El Geneina and killed 10,000 to 15,000 people there in all.
This slaughter could potentially be stopped if those with leverage would apply pressure on the United Arab Emirates, the primary backer of the Rapid Support Forces’ war machine. Those include American leaders like President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and behemoth companies like the N.B.A. and Disney, both of which have business partnerships with the Emirates.
Likely no organization holds more potential sway than the National Basketball Association. The league’s partnership with the Emirates includes preseason games in Abu Dhabi and an in-season basketball tournament, the Emirates N.B.A. Cup, which began last Friday. The league should make clear this will be the last Emirates N.B.A. Cup unless the country stops supporting the militants. The N.B.A.’s global prestige gives it immense influence; taking a stand could send a signal far beyond the basketball court, lighting the way for others to follow suit.
https://washingtoncentre.org/how-the-uaes-terror-financing-of-rsf-fuels-sudans-deadly-gold-war/
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/21/sport/usa-south-sudan-basketball-olympic-warmup-spt-intl/index.html
https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/11/19/nba-risks-sportswashing-uae-violations
Make some more noise: feel free to take the text and post it to your team page, or wherever.
Together we can try to make the NBA do the right thing.
12 comments
obviously take it with a grain of salt but they agreed to a ceasefire 2 hours ago
Everyone should 100% be behind this kind of pressure being put on the league. None of this should be remotely controversial. The media has been complicit in obscuring the story in Sudan. With the increased visibility the genocide is finally getting, I am hoping the NBA will be forced to respond and apply some pressure to their beloved sponsor.
Nobody gave a shit 2 years ago when the Gov forces were doing the same to the RSF held regions they were taking after getting a tidy gift of drones and weapons from a foreign entity. Hate how you are all tools for whatever feel-good bullshit cause is most recently in the headlines without a shred of research or critical thought applied.
i 100% agree
the NBA been quietly working with genocide backers for decades though, sadly i believe they won’t do anything to possibly risk the uae money
No Jews – no news 😉
Does the nba need to stand up to China too? Nah right? Too much dollars on the line.
Would love to watch my Knicks without repping Abu Dhabi on their fucking jerseys.
But we don’t live in that world, just the one where money blinds people from crimes against humanity.
Who’s in charge of the NBA again? What are his beliefs?
Nobody cares this is a Knicks sub
YES. FUCK UAE!
The NBA shouldn’t be in America because of all the war crimes the military committed in the Middle East then
This is the type of well meaning post that gets you added to Dolan’s “banned for life” facial recognition system.