Congo asks NBA, F1, soccer teams to end Rwanda deals - ESPN

The Democratic Republic of Congo is calling on the NBA, Formula 1 and major international soccer clubs to end multimillion-dollar deals with Rwanda's autocratic government.

The NBA, whose recent Africa expansion is centered in Rwanda, was the latest to receive a letter from Congo officials. Soccer teams Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain and racing's Formula 1 received similarly worded pleas in recent weeks.

In her letter Thursday to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, DRC Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner questioned the NBA's morality, calling on Silver to consider whether the league's «commitment to social justice and respect for human rights» aligns with its business ties to Rwanda, which the DRC blames for a surge in violence in its country. The letter asked Silver to sever the league's dealings with Rwanda, «If not for your own conscience, then at least in solidarity with the innocent victims of Rwandan aggression.»

The NBA launched the Basketball Africa League, its first league outside North America, five years ago in Rwanda's capital of Kigali. The NBA has said the U.S. government encouraged it to do business in Rwanda, and when asked about the DRC letter, a league spokesman said, «We will continue to follow U.S. government guidance everywhere we operate.»

The DRC earlier called on Arsenal, Bayern Munich and PSG to end their «blood-stained» sponsorship deals and on F1 to end ongoing talks with Rwanda over its bid to host a future grand prix event.

«We have been closely monitoring the developments relating to the DRC and Rwanda and continue to do so,» an F1 spokesman wrote in an email to ESPN, adding of potential race sites, «We assess any potential request in detail and any future decisions would be