The sports leagues will take the currency and not worry about human rights abuses.

No one will ever accuse National Football League or National Basketball Association owners as a group of worrying about human rights. Sure some owners will pay a bit of lip service to the issue but it all evaporates when money is on the table. And there is money on the table that is available in Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates. The National Basketball Association staged two preseason games in the country recently and the league happily pocketed the local currency. The National Football League apparently sent some of its employees to Abu Dhabi to check out the feasibility of playing a preseason contest there. If there is a deal to be made, the NFL is not going to say no to playing a game in Abu Dhabi.

But not everyone is happy with American sports leagues showing up in Abu Dhabi, playing a game and taking money home. Human Rights Watch is a group that investigates and reports on abuses happening in all corners of the world. Human Rights Watch has accused the UAE of using sports to distract from its human rights record, specifically citing the country’s zero-tolerance policy toward dissent and its failure to protect migrant workers. Human Rights Watch said the UAE hosts high profile sporting, entertainment, and cultural events to promote a public image of openness which is not true. National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver told Dan Patrick on his show earlier this year he doesn’t see a problem playing in the United Arab Emirates. After all there is a lot of money flowing out of the UAE and some of that could be captured by his owners. Silver’s top priority as commissioner is to maximize revenues. The same holds true for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. It is all about money not human rights.

Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191

Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com

Boston Celtics players in Abu Dhabi.