The National Basketball Association (NBA) risks "sportswashing" the UAE's egregious human rights record by expanding its financial partnership with its government, Human Rights Watch said today. The 2026 NBA Final series began on June 3, 2026, and is ongoing.
The UAE hosts high-profile sporting, entertainment, and cultural events to promote a public image of openness that is at odds with the government's efforts to prevent scrutiny of its rampant, systemic human rights violations at home and abroad. The UAE uses these high-profile events to burnish its image, despite maintaining a zero-tolerance policy toward dissent domestically and fueling human rights abuses abroad.
"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."
In a recent report, Human Rights Watch found that Colombian private military contractors, apparently hired by a UAE-based company, transited through UAE military facilities before being deployed to Sudan to support the abusive Rapid Support Forces (RSF), accused of atrocities in its fight with the Sudan military for control of the country. This is further evidence indicating that the UAE is assisting or otherwise substantially contributing to the RSF's capacity to commit war crimes.
Over the last five years, the NBA has signed multiple partnership and sponsorship agreements with UAE authorities and UAE state-owned companies. In November 2021, the NBA signed a multi-year partnership deal with the UAE's Department of Culture and Tourism for Abu Dhabi to host NBA games in the UAE. In January 2026, the NBA and Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture and Tourism announced a nine-year extension of the partnership that could be "worth well over $300 million," according to the Associated Press.
In 2024, Emirates airline signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with the NBA that would generate US$500 million a year in advertising revenue, according to Reuters. Emirates airline is owned by the Emirates Group, a state-owned Dubai based holding company.
The NBA should take immediate steps to ensure that its games are not used to distract from the harm linked to the UAE government at home and abroad, Human Rights Watch said.
The NBA has a responsibility to respect human rights throughout all its operations. The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights sets out these responsibilities, including the expectation that businesses will adopt specific policies and conduct due diligence to identify any risks of contributing to human rights harm. Such harm may include helping a country's reputation in a way that helps distract from its human rights abuses.
Human Rights Watch wrote to the NBA outlining its concerns and urging the association to develop a human rights risk mitigation strategy that includes speaking out about the UAE's abuses. Human Rights Watch asked whether the NBA had agreed to any clause that would restrict their freedom, or that of their employees, to publicly speak out about UAE's abuses. The NBA has not responded at the time of publication.
A coalition of civil society organizations is calling on the NBA to end their partnership with the UAE, as long as the UAE is involved in atrocities in Sudan.
For over three years, a steady body of reporting by international media, UN experts, and human rights organizations like Human Rights Watch has repeatedly documented the flow of weapons, personnel, and other support from the UAE to the RSF. UAE's role has helped fuel a conflict and humanitarian catastrophe that forced 14 million people to flee their homes and 4.4 million to leave Sudan.
The UAE has steadfastly denied that it provides military support to the RSF, claiming that the assistance provided is purely humanitarian. However, Emirati state authorities should and would be fully aware of military support activities taking place on Emirati territory, and specifically on government property and military bases. The UAE is a highly centralized authoritarian state.
The Emirati government has embarked on a sustained assault on rights and freedom over the last decade, including the recent unfair mass trial of at least 84 human rights defenders and political dissidents, which has led to the complete closure of civic space. Among those sentenced was the well-known Emirati human rights defender, Ahmed Mansoor, who has been imprisoned in an isolation cell since March 2017.
Migrant workers are governed by the abusive kafala (sponsorship) system that ties their visas to their employers and makes them highly vulnerable to abuses, including wage theft, exorbitant recruitment fees, and job immobility. The UAE also relies on inadequate heat protections against the country's extreme heat that leads to health harm, including organ failure. The UAE bans trade unions, which inhibits workers' ability to demand stronger labor protections.
"The NBA and its officials and sponsors should address the risk of it being used for sportswashing by taking action such as speaking out and allowing its players to speak out about the country's human rights record, including calling for the release of Ahmed Mansoor and an end to the ill-treatment of migrant workers," Shea said.
