ESPN Investigation: How the NBA got into business with an African dictator

Today, ESPN released a new, multiplatform investigation “How the NBA got into business with an African dictator.” The presentation includes a written piece by ESPN investigative reporter Mark Fainaru-Wada and an accompanying half-hour ESPN Special Report film directed and produced by William Weinbaum. In addition, Fainaru-Wada discussed his reporting on today’s edition of the ESPN Daily Podcast.

SYNOPSIS: In the spring of 2021, the NBA launched the Basketball Africa League, its first professional league outside North America. The new league represents the latest phase in the NBA’s ongoing global expansion; an opportunity to comb for new talent and recruit new fans on a continent with a population almost five times the United States. But in building its brand in Africa, the NBA has aligned itself with a man who has been called a dictator and a warmonger, crafting a partnership that requires the league to look past the kinds of social justice issues it often champions at home. This is the never-before-told story of the NBA’s alliance with Rwandan President Paul Kagame. ESPN investigative reporter Mark Fainaru-Wada examined the partnership for more than a year, interviewing NBA executives and coaches, Rwandan officials and opposition figures, U.S. government sources, human-rights experts and investors in the NBA’s Africa business — valued at nearly $1 billion as of 2021. ESPN also reviewed U.S. and international human-rights reports and traveled twice to Rwanda.

Link to written piece by Mark Fainaru-Wada:

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/40591644/how-nba-got-business-african-dictator

Link to ESPN Special Report film directed and produced by William Weinbaum:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGEB8XxDXgo

Link to today’s ESPN Daily Podcast with Mark Fainaru-Wada:

https://www.espn.com/espnradio/podcast/archive?id=27767948