The NBA Loves 'Social Justice' Until It's Time To Cash Checks From An Alleged Genocidal Regime

The NBA is under fire for putting its blatant hypocrisy on display, yet again. The Emirates NBA Cup, the league's in-season tournament, is in its final stages with the semifinals set for Dec. 13 in Las Vegas.

But humanitarian organizations are calling out the NBA for taking money from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which they accuse of helping to fund and arm a paramilitary group that the U.S. government now says is committing genocide in Sudan. 

Despite the league, and plenty of its players and coaches, constantly preaching about "social justice," the NBA is happy to slap an Emirates logo on the court and cash checks from regimes tied to atrocities across the globe.

A view of the Emirates NBA Cup logo before the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the New Orleans Pelicans at American Airlines Center.

(Jerome Miron/Imagn Images)

OutKick spoke with Dan Sullivan, director for Africa, Asia and the Middle East at Refugees International, one of the organizers behind the "Speak Out on Sudan" campaign targeting the Emirates NBA Cup.

The NBA, the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), and the UAE Embassy in Washington did not respond to email requests for comment. Amazon Prime, the primary broadcast partner for the Emirates NBA Cup, also did not respond to an email request for comment. 

‘The Worst Humanitarian Crisis in the World Right Now’

Sudan isn’t just another far-off conflict. It is, by any reasonable measure, a catastrophe.

Since war broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), millions of people have been driven from their homes, famine is looming, and entire communities (especially in Darfur) have been targeted and wiped out.

Earlier this year, the U.S. State Department formally determined that members of the RSF and allied militias are committing genocide in Darfur.

"What makes it genocide is the intentional targeting of people based on their ethnicity," Sullivan told OutKick, pointing to U.S. government findings that specifically single out the RSF for genocidal attacks in Darfur.

According to the Speak Out on Sudan campaign, more than 12 million people have been forced from their homes, roughly 150,000 people have been killed (mostly civilians) and nearly 25 million Sudanese need humanitarian assistance, with famine and disease stalking the country.

NBA Cashes Big Checks from Emirates

In February 2024, the NBA proudly announced a multi-year global marketing partnership with Emirates, naming the airline the league’s "Official Global Airline Partner" and the inaugural title sponsor of what is now called the Emirates NBA Cup.

Emirates is not some random private company that just happens to be headquartered in Dubai. It’s the UAE’s flagship, state-owned airline and an arm of a government that has been repeatedly accused by journalists, researchers, and U.S. officials of supplying arms, money, and logistical support to the RSF in Sudan.

Sullivan’s summary of the contradiction is simple enough for even the NBA’s marketing department to understand. 

"There is evidence of the UAE sponsoring genocide at the same time that they're sponsoring the NBA Emirates Cup," he said. 

View of the Emirates NBA Cup and TISSOT logos behind the basket during a game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Golden State Warriors at Frost Bank Center.

(Scott Wachter/Imagn Images)

Refugees International's campaign calls on the NBA to suspend its partnerships with the UAE, arguing that the league’s deal "helps polish the image of a government fueling mass atrocities."

Sullivan says the NBA is helping the UAE with "sportswashing," the now-familiar term that describes authoritarian or abusive governments pouring money into sports to launder their image.

The UAE has splashed cash all over global sports: soccer clubs and tournaments, UFC, American football, and now the NBA. 

"When people see the UAE, they associate it with something positive," Sullivan told OutKick. "When organizations like the NBA have that partnership, it helps distract from the negative role the UAE is playing in Sudan."

In other words, people are not supposed to think about RSF militias torching villages in Darfur while they're watching LeBron James throw down dunks for the Lakers with a giant Emirates NBA Cup logo on the court. 

Sullivan said the message from his organization to the NBA is simple. 

"Make this the last Emirates NBA Cup. Suspend the partnership with Emirates until the UAE stops fueling atrocities in Sudan," he said. 

They’re not even demanding the end of the in-season tournament (or ending the partnership immediately). 

The ‘Woke’ League That Goes Silent on Global Issues

This is where the NBA’s moral theater runs counter to its actions. 

This is the same league that plastered "Black Lives Matter" on the court, put social-justice slogans on jerseys, and pumped out carefully curated statements on every hot domestic topic. It proudly markets itself as a morally-superior league, one that really cares about people. 

The NBA plastered ‘Black Lives Matter’ all over its courts across the United States. 

(Kim Klement/Imagn Images)

It doesn't bat an eye when Steve Kerr spends an entire pre-game press conference railing about gun control or when LeBron James doxes a police officer for doing his job. But when it comes to taking money from China or the UAE, which both commit horrific human-rights violations, crickets from the NBA. 

Sullivan says his coalition has, through partners, indirectly heard from current and former players and there's a "reluctance to take on the UAE." He mentioned non-disclosure agreements and contract language that may be stifling what NBA players are willing to say publicly.

Sullivan is not impressed with how the league presents itself as a social justice ally while cashing checks from these regimes. He does credit the league for some of its positive initiatives (NBA Africa, youth programs, global development work, etc.) but then added the obvious caveat. 

"Those are all great things," he said of the NBA’s social-impact programs. "But when you mix that with this partnership with a country that is directly fueling genocide, that completely contradicts it."

When Refugees International wrote to the league, Sullivan said the NBA responded by pointing to their good work, so people should essentially ignore the bad stuff. 

"We’re not asking them to be involved in all the geopolitics in the world," he said. "We’re saying this is the worst of the worst, and you’re partnering directly with somebody who’s responsible for it."

Daryl Morey and China

If this all sounds familiar, that’s because we have already seen the NBA twist itself into knots over China. In 2019, then-Rockets GM Daryl Morey fired off a tweet supporting pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. Chinese partners cut or threatened deals. And the NBA, the same NBA that wants you to believe it’s principled, scrambled to calm the Chinese government and protect its business interests.

"That tells you they’re putting expanding the business first," Sullivan said.

The league wants to have it both ways. It wants to posture as a defender of human rights in the United States while assuring global regimes that it is willing to play ball as long as the money keeps rolling in. 

The NBA cares about "social justice" in the United States but happily abandons all of its "values" when it's time to expand the brand into China.

(Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images)

This isn’t just about fans in China anymore. This is about the title sponsor of a marquee tournament being tied, by multiple investigations and by allies of the U.S., to a paramilitary group that Washington has singled out as genocidal. And yet, when asked to explain how that fits with its social-justice brand, the NBA is silent. 

ESPN has likewise reported on the NBA’s partnership footprint in Africa, detailing criticism of the league’s work in Rwanda under President Paul Kagame as part of its Basketball Africa push.

Refugees International and its partners aren’t pretending the NBA can fix Sudan. Their demands aren't extreme, to say the least. They want the league to suspend the Emirates sponsorship, which isn't too difficult, except the giant checks would cease to exist. 

They want players and coaches to simply say that they "Stand with Sudan." That's also not difficult, especially considering how willing players and coaches are to spout left-wing political platitudes. 

Finally, they want answers from the league about why it's willing to partner with a genocidal regime. The NBA basically says, "It's complicated." The league should be more honest. Frankly, if the NBA just said the quiet part out loud, it might garner some respect. 

Unfortunately, the honest reason is "we like money" and the NBA is never going to admit that. 

The NBA made a choice by signing a multi-year deal with the UAE’s state airline to slap "Emirates NBA Cup" on its in-season tournament and on referee jerseys.

However, the league doesn't get to lecture Americans about justice and equality, cash in on "Black Lives Matter," and then look the other way when the checks are coming from regimes tied to major human-rights violations. The NBA, the NBPA, and the UAE Embassy had their chance to explain how that adds up. As of this writing, they chose not to.

They won't state the obvious, so we will: The NBA’s "values" mean nothing if they don't apply when money is flowing in from Beijing or Abu Dhabi.