Talks about his relationship to the president of Rawanda and some human rights violations he’s committed
>”I’d like to host an NBA game here someday,” Kagame mused, describing to Silver his ideas for renovating Rwanda’s Petit Stade, the “Little Stadium.” Silver’s deputy, Mark Tatum, was there, too, as was Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri, who counted Kagame as a “dear friend.”
>The U.S. State Department repeatedly has cited credible reports that Kagame’s government is responsible for human rights violations ranging from the imprisonment, torture and murder of political opponents to the funding of child soldiers in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Talks about the land grant Masai received:
>In the summer of 2021, soon after the BAL hosted its first games in Kigali, Kagame signed a presidential order granting Ujiri 6 acres adjacent to the arena. The property was worth an estimated $5 million.
>Ujiri’s company would oversee a development project that includes an 80-room hotel, restaurants, a rooftop lounge, a gym, a podcast studio, and a multipurpose field for events and open markets — the type of sports and entertainment complex he, Silver and Tatum discussed with Kagame in 2018.
pharoahyugi
If you wanna do any good in Africa, you’re gonna have to play nice with some dictators.
Winter_Purpose8695
Isn’t this a net positive for Rwanda though, denying Rwanda a BAL team just because of its leader wouldn’t have done anything positive anyway?
Plantedballer
They’re calling Masai power hungry and “only in it for the money” over on r/nba. Sad that people will read this garbage and truly believe that
humberriverdam
ESPN and Windhorst was busy talking about the UAE like it was Disneyland on hoop collective. So many words about how the people there had so much free time to watch basketball. None about the actual fucking slavery or support for the Sudanese civil war. They sincerely can shut the fuck up about Masai.
it’s important to recognize the western lens we have before blanket condemnation at this..word structure. in africa a dictator is often the good option. lest we end up with warlords or western puppets who bask in corruption. we know kagame’s past but he’s widely admired in east africa for his no-nonsense drive towards building a stable, safe, prosperous, and forward thinking nation – which rwanda has achieved.
unclekarl_
I was actually just in Rwanda and in fairness the people of Rwanda genuinely love Kagame.
Kagame came in as a rebel leader that ended the Rwanda Genocide. Since he became the leader he’s created real positive change and peace in Rwanda. The country is insanely clean. Probably the cleanest country in Africa. They have actual economic development and foreign investment which is something that would’ve been unthinkable 30 years ago.
Talking to the people, they love him because he has completely transformed the country since the genocide and cause they fear what would happen if he were replaced.
jjkiller26
were they expecting Masai to lead an army to overthrow the dictator so the country can have a basketball team?
Annual_Plant5172
This sub having a collective meltdown because an investigative journalist is reporting facts is weird as hell. Masai isn’t your father so why go on the offensive because someone did their job?
SolarAs
Masai has always been highly vocal on the corruption in Africa and how it has held the continent back. I can’t speak to the atrocities Kagame’s government has committed – I’m sure his record isn’t clean – but to his credit, he has adamantly fought to reduce corruption in Rwanda and in turn strengthen their economy. I can see why Masai feels a connection with him. That said, government affairs are never black and white. Just mentioning there are more sides to a story than an ESPN article can cover.
Big_Albatross_3050
Isn’t this guy also the reason Rwanda is doing so well though. Like yes he’s a dictator and while it’s better to have a democratic leader, he also dragged the people out of one of the worst times in their countries history and put them in a position to succeed.
Reading what actual Rwandans have to say about him, they seem to quite like the guy
11 Comments
Some excerpts from the article:
Talks about his relationship to the president of Rawanda and some human rights violations he’s committed
>”I’d like to host an NBA game here someday,” Kagame mused, describing to Silver his ideas for renovating Rwanda’s Petit Stade, the “Little Stadium.” Silver’s deputy, Mark Tatum, was there, too, as was Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri, who counted Kagame as a “dear friend.”
>The U.S. State Department repeatedly has cited credible reports that Kagame’s government is responsible for human rights violations ranging from the imprisonment, torture and murder of political opponents to the funding of child soldiers in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Talks about the land grant Masai received:
>In the summer of 2021, soon after the BAL hosted its first games in Kigali, Kagame signed a presidential order granting Ujiri 6 acres adjacent to the arena. The property was worth an estimated $5 million.
>Ujiri’s company would oversee a development project that includes an 80-room hotel, restaurants, a rooftop lounge, a gym, a podcast studio, and a multipurpose field for events and open markets — the type of sports and entertainment complex he, Silver and Tatum discussed with Kagame in 2018.
If you wanna do any good in Africa, you’re gonna have to play nice with some dictators.
Isn’t this a net positive for Rwanda though, denying Rwanda a BAL team just because of its leader wouldn’t have done anything positive anyway?
They’re calling Masai power hungry and “only in it for the money” over on r/nba. Sad that people will read this garbage and truly believe that
ESPN and Windhorst was busy talking about the UAE like it was Disneyland on hoop collective. So many words about how the people there had so much free time to watch basketball. None about the actual fucking slavery or support for the Sudanese civil war. They sincerely can shut the fuck up about Masai.
https://x.com/WindhorstESPN/status/1633456756847423488?t=kk6ojI5hzzWB0MsM3mTpNA&s=19
it’s important to recognize the western lens we have before blanket condemnation at this..word structure. in africa a dictator is often the good option. lest we end up with warlords or western puppets who bask in corruption. we know kagame’s past but he’s widely admired in east africa for his no-nonsense drive towards building a stable, safe, prosperous, and forward thinking nation – which rwanda has achieved.
I was actually just in Rwanda and in fairness the people of Rwanda genuinely love Kagame.
Kagame came in as a rebel leader that ended the Rwanda Genocide. Since he became the leader he’s created real positive change and peace in Rwanda. The country is insanely clean. Probably the cleanest country in Africa. They have actual economic development and foreign investment which is something that would’ve been unthinkable 30 years ago.
Talking to the people, they love him because he has completely transformed the country since the genocide and cause they fear what would happen if he were replaced.
were they expecting Masai to lead an army to overthrow the dictator so the country can have a basketball team?
This sub having a collective meltdown because an investigative journalist is reporting facts is weird as hell. Masai isn’t your father so why go on the offensive because someone did their job?
Masai has always been highly vocal on the corruption in Africa and how it has held the continent back. I can’t speak to the atrocities Kagame’s government has committed – I’m sure his record isn’t clean – but to his credit, he has adamantly fought to reduce corruption in Rwanda and in turn strengthen their economy. I can see why Masai feels a connection with him. That said, government affairs are never black and white. Just mentioning there are more sides to a story than an ESPN article can cover.
Isn’t this guy also the reason Rwanda is doing so well though. Like yes he’s a dictator and while it’s better to have a democratic leader, he also dragged the people out of one of the worst times in their countries history and put them in a position to succeed.
Reading what actual Rwandans have to say about him, they seem to quite like the guy