Joakim Noah is someone who often is outspoken at any given time. The former defensive player of the year has stood up for teammates, defended himself against criticism and even fought for things he believes in. Case in point, his Noah’s Arc foundation which aims to end gun violence.
Noah and the Knicks are currently at West Point for their training camp, something they’ve done for the last few years. Noah, in his first camp with the team, went with the squad but he did it with a little bit of resistance. He admitted today that he is very uncomfortable with training at the United State Military Academy. So uncomfortable, he was granted permission to skip the Cadets dinner the team attends every year.
Marc Berman of the New York Post has more.
Knicks center Joakim Noah skipped Thursday night’s team dinner at the mess hall with Army cadets as well as a speech from a retired colonel because of his stance against war and gun violence.
Noah said he feels “uncomfortable’’ the Knicks are conducting training camp for the third straight year at West Point, where the United States Military Academy is based.
“It’s hard for me a little bit – I have a lot of respect for the kids here fighting — but it’s hard for me to understand why we go to war and why kids have to kill kids all around the world,’’ Noah said. “I have mixed feeling about being here. I’m very proud of this country. I love America. I don’t understand kids killing kids around the world.’’
Noah received permission from Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek to skip the team function. He was the only member of the team not in attendance. Noah said his decision to skip the dinner and speech was not intended as a form of protest.
“It’s not my way of saying anything – I was not comfortable,’’ Noah said.
The speech was given for the second straight year by retired Col. Steve Martel. Hornacek said he wants to give Noah audio of the speech because he feels it will be helpful. Noah, in his first season with the Knicks, is expected to be the team’s vocal, emotional leader.
“It’s his right,’’ Hornacek said. “We want him part of the team group. He just didn’t feel comfortable. We’re not going to pressure him into doing that. We had a speaker who I thought was fantastic. I told him maybe I can get him a copy of the speech, so he can hear some of it. It’s his right. That’s fine.
“With all his stuff he does against gun violence, it’s plenty fine with us,’’ Hornacek added.
This is sure to garner some interest from everyone around the country. With the stance that NFL players, most notably Colin Kaepernick, have and with other NBA players saying something similar might be coming from them, this protest from Noah could be added to the list of notable moments in progress towards a resolution across the country.
