Rights group urges NBA to speak out on UAE ties, role in Sudan conflict
June 10 2026 (KHARTOUM) – The National Basketball Association risks “sportswashing” the United Arab Emirates’ human rights record by expanding its financial partnership with the Gulf state’s government, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday.
The rights group urged the NBA to use the high-profile platform of the ongoing 2026 NBA Finals to speak out against the UAE’s domestic rights record and its alleged military backing of the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan.
“As evidence of the UAE’s military support to Sudan’s abusive Rapid Support Forces mounts, the NBA will be prominently donning Emirates logos during the 2026 NBA finals,” said Joey Shea, United Arab Emirates senior researcher at Human Rights Watch.
“Instead of using basketball to whitewash UAE abuses, the NBA should use this high-profile opportunity to speak out about the country’s human rights record, particularly the UAE’s role in Sudan,” Shea added.
The NBA has signed multiple sponsorship agreements with UAE authorities and state-owned companies over the last five years, including a multi-year deal with Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism and a major advertising sponsorship with Emirates airline.
Human Rights Watch stated that it recently found evidence that Colombian private military contractors, hired by a UAE-based company, transited through Emirati military facilities before deploying to Sudan to support the RSF.
The rights group said this transit provides further evidence that the UAE is substantially contributing to the RSF’s capacity to commit war crimes in its fight against the Sudanese military.
The UAE has steadfastly denied providing military support to the RSF, maintaining that its assistance to the region is purely humanitarian.
International media, United Nations experts, and human rights organizations have repeatedly documented the flow of weapons, personnel, and other support from the UAE to the RSF over the last three years.
The conflict in Sudan has fueled a severe humanitarian catastrophe, forcing 14 million people to flee their homes and displacing 4.4 million people outside the country’s borders.
Human Rights Watch said it wrote to the NBA outlining its concerns and asking if the league had agreed to any clauses restricting its freedom to speak out publicly on UAE abuses, but the basketball association has not responded.