EngRegional
ESPN: When sports channel turned into political tool
For the celebration of the
2024 Women’s Day ESPN, an American international basic cable sports channel,
published a story on how basketball is inspiring impact on women’s lives in
Rwanda.
That day, a sports news
program broadcast daily on ESPN, SportsCenter would air a new feature from
ESPN’s Investigative and Enterprise Unit that looked at how basketball is
changing the lives of women and young girls in the east African country.
Reported by Mark Fainaru-Wada
with producer Willie Weinbaum, “A Chance to Play” detailed how thousands of
women and girls in Rwanda are overcoming patriarchy and poverty just to get to
play – and live far healthier lives.
It is shameful that the same
Fainaru-Wada is the one who wrote ESPN’s article on July 26 with a video version,
titled “How the NBA got into business with an African dictator;” alleging that
Rwanda is a ‘repressive government’ aligning with sports entities to distract
from its human rights abuses.
Sponsored by Human Rights
Foundation, one of the long time Rwanda detractors, the article referred to the
partnership between NBA and Kigali as "sportswashing," a term that
has been used also in the past to disrupt collaboration between the Visit
Rwanda brand and European Football clubs.
“All these are failed efforts.
Have been for very long time so far. And will always be! Hold them in
contempt,” President Paul Kagame posted on X, responding to the “sportswashing”
allegations.
The ESPN article brought up
nothing new, except compiling the same baseless allegations created by the
West’s political tools to bully Rwanda.
At the end of the day, ESPN, a
channel honored for sports coverage was used as a political tool, just like
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Reporters without Borders, and Human
Rights Foundation, among many others created and funded by the West.
“The conversations that we've
had with Paul Kagame have all been about improving the lives of Rwandan
people...How can we create; how can we inspire and connect people through the
game of basketball to make Rwandan peoples' lives better," NBA Deputy
Commissioner Mark Tatum told ESPN.
Back to the article published
on Women’s Day, Fainaru-Wada witnessed how basketball is changing the lives of
women and young girls in Rwanda. At this point, ESPN and Fainaru-Wada were
undoubtedly used to tarnish the image of Rwanda and President Kagame with a
fake narrative, despite knowing the reality.
“Rwanda is quite amazing,
particularly given its history of a relatively recent genocide [the 1994
Genocide against the Tutsi] — just 30 years ago — and its efforts to recover
from that,” Fainaru-Wada said in March, adding, “[basketball initiative] just
seemed like such powerful and impactful work; felt like such an obvious story
for us to do.”
When Fainaru-Wada was in
Rwanda, he witnessed no human rights abuses. But after returning home, he
provided a platform for Rwandan self-proclaimed opposition leader Victoire
Ingabire Umuhoza to repeat her sham accusations against RPF-ruling party.
Ingabire is a favorite for Rwanda’s
detractors But she is no victim.
Rwandans know her as a genocide ideologue and criminal, a convict released on
presidential mercy in 2018, after serving eight years of her 15 year sentence.
In 2012, Ingabire was found
guilty of terrorism, genocide denial and planning to cause state insecurity. Of
all the 14 million Rwandans, it is questionable how Ingabire was Fainaru-Wada’s
best witness as regards Rwanda’s human rights situation.
ESPN should better maintain its record in sports reporting. Being used as a political tool to bully Rwanda is a fruitless venture.
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