The National Basketball Association has officially confirmed that United States sanctions imposed on the Rwandan military in March were the primary reason for removing the country's army team from the Basketball Africa League. This announcement marks the first time the NBA has publicly disclosed the specific rationale behind the decision.
The clarification comes in response to a formal request from two United States senators who urged the league to reconsider its financial relationship with the Rwandan club. The senators argued that accepting funds from a government with a disputed human rights record could make the NBA appear complicit in sportswashing.
In a letter dated October 23, Democratic Senator Jeffrey Merkley and Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn gave the NBA until November 2 to provide a written explanation regarding its continued partnership with Rwanda. They questioned how the association could reconcile its commitment to justice with accepting money from foreign governments involved in human rights abuses.
The US government placed sanctions on the Rwandan army in March, accusing it of fueling the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Last week, sanctions were also imposed on Rwanda's defense ministry over its alleged support for the M23 rebel group, which has seized control of large parts of eastern DR Congo. Rwanda has denied backing the rebels despite what it describes as overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum responded to the senators by stating that the Armée Patriotique Rwandaise club had been withdrawn from the league following the earlier sanctions. The association indicated that the APR will remain barred from participating in the BAL for as long as the US sanctions remain in effect.
Rwanda serves as an official partner of the BAL and pays the league to host its finals at the 10,000-seat BK Arena in the capital city of Kigali. The NBA reportedly receives millions of dollars annually from the country for marketing and partnership rights. The country has hosted all but one of the league's final and playoff matches since the competition began in 2021.
The APR is one of Rwanda's top basketball teams. It represented the country in the BAL in both 2024 and 2025, finishing in third place in the most recent season. For the 2026 season, the club was replaced by the RSSB Tigers.
The Basketball Africa League is a professional pan-African competition established and co-organized by the NBA and FIBA, the world governing body for basketball. The league features twelve club teams from across the continent.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has repeatedly criticized Rwanda's high-profile international sports deals, which also include partnerships with European football clubs and Formula 1. The DR Congo argues that these agreements help Rwanda clean up its global image while the conflict in its eastern region continues.
