{"id":342312,"date":"2025-12-13T09:31:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T09:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/342312\/"},"modified":"2025-12-13T09:31:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T09:31:08","slug":"as-sudan-burns-the-nbas-embrace-of-the-uae-shows-how-sport-enables-atrocity-nba-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/342312\/","title":{"rendered":"As Sudan burns, the NBA\u2019s embrace of the UAE shows how sport enables atrocity | NBA Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

As paramilitary fighters from the brutal Rapid Support Forces (RSF) overran the largest city in western Sudan \u2013 carrying out mass executions, rapes and ethnic cleansing with weapons supplied by the United Arab Emirates<\/a> \u2013 the NBA\u2019s annual in-season tournament, the Emirates NBA Cup, tipped off on Halloween night, proudly sponsored by the very same Gulf state.<\/p>\n

The tournament is the most visible example of the NBA\u2019s expanding partnership with the UAE \u2013 a partnership that includes annual preseason games in Abu Dhabi, a lucrative sponsorship deal with Emirates airlines, and plans for a new NBA<\/a> Global Academy at NYU\u2019s Abu Dhabi campus.<\/p>\n

Larger deals are expected to follow. The NBA is reportedly<\/a> seeking Abu Dhabi\u2019s investment in a new NBA-branded European league<\/a>, which could launch as early as 2027.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

For its part, the NBA says it is following advice from the US government on its relationship with the UAE.<\/p>\n

\u201cBasketball has a century-long history in the Middle East, and our activities in the UAE \u2013 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 \u2013 are consistent with our efforts to engage fans and aspiring players in more than 200 countries and territories around the world,\u201d a league spokesperson told the Guardian. \u201cWe will continue to rely on US state department guidance everywhere we operate.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Philadelphia 76ers takes a team photo at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque as part of their NBA Global Games visit in Abu Dhabi in September. Photograph: Jesse D Garrabrant\/NBAE\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

The UAE\u2019s influence extends into bloodier terrain beyond its borders. A growing body of evidence<\/a> links the Emirati government to Sudan\u2019s RSF, the paramilitary faction behind many of the atrocities and crimes against humanity being committed in Sudan.<\/p>\n

Sudan\u2019s 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\u2019s largest displacement crisis.<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u2019s Sudan Research Group claimed that more than 61,000 people have died in Khartoum state, <\/a>26,000 as a direct result of the violence<\/a>. Meanwhile, former US special envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello claimed last year that up to 150,000 people had been killed<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Since the start of the conflict, the Emirates have helped fund and arm the paramilitary group, effectively sponsoring the group\u2019s war crimes and atrocities. Sudan\u2019s military government even brought a case to the International Court of Justice<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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,<\/a> no other entity attempted to distance itself from the controversial Gulf state.<\/p>\n

Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers arrives at the hotel for the team\u2019s visit to Abu Dhabi this year. Photograph: David Dow\/NBAE\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The UAE has reaped enormous benefits from the sports world\u2019s apathy. Abu Dhabi\u2019s investment in Manchester City<\/a> 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\u2019s popularity across South and Southeast Asia, the same regions that supply much of the UAE\u2019s migrant labor force. Meanwhile, investments in artificial wave pools, tennis and motorsports have broadened its growing sports tourism strategy.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> their owner for \u201chis country\u2019s role in the Sudan conflict, where civilians continue to suffer.\u201d<\/p>\n

The silence around the NBA\u2019s new partnership with the UAE is concerning. One of the few to call out the NBA for normalizing the UAE\u2019s role in Sudan is Refugees International, an NGO that advocates for the rights of displaced people. \u201cThe Emirates NBA Cup COULD bring out the best in everyone. Instead, it\u2019s being used to sportswash atrocities fueled + funded by the UAE in Sudan,\u201d read the tweet<\/a>. \u201cThe NBA shouldn\u2019t let itself be a pawn in the UAE\u2019s normalization of famine + genocide.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, sports teams and organizations rarely sever lucrative partnerships without resistance. At FC Bayern Munich\u2019s annual general assembly last week, lawyer and activist Michael Ott, who previously led a successful campaign to end Bayern\u2019s sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways, was heckled by attendees<\/a> after raising concerns about the club\u2019s new agreement with the UAE\u2019s Emirates Airlines.<\/p>\n

Ott accused Bayern of \u201cbuttressing the image of sketchy political regimes that contradict our values\u201d and warned that the deal with Emirates risked causing \u201clasting damage to the reputation of our club\u201d. For his remarks, he was openly mocked<\/a> by board chairman and CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen.<\/p>\n

Despite ending previous sponsorship agreements with Qatar and Rwanda, the fact that Bayern Munich\u2019s leadership refused to budge on its ties to the UAE further emphasizes how effective the Gulf state\u2019s brand management and public relations strategies have been.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t expect the NBA, which also maintains partnership with other autocrats like Rwanda\u2019s Paul Kagame, is unlikely to speak out about the UAE\u2019s human rights record \u2026 but imagine if they did. Imagine if genocide, war crimes and entrenched authoritarianism were red lines for global sports.<\/p>\n