Athletes making bold and public political statements has become more and more common since Colin Kaepernick’s anthem protest last month. New Knicks center Joakim Noah has made one of his own by skipping a team dinner with cadets at the West Point Military Academy, citing his own “mixed feelings” and his own personal anti-war stance. The Knicks are holding training camp there this week.
“It’s hard for me a little bit. I have a lot of respect for the kids who are out here fighting. But it’s hard for me to understand why we have to go to war, why kids have to kill kids around the world,” Noah said after Friday’s practice. “So I have mixed feelings about being here. I’m very proud of this country. I love America but I just don’t understand kids killing kids around the world.”
Joakim Noah says his decision not to attend Knicks team dinner with West Point cadets last night isn't anti-solider but anti-war stance.
— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) September 30, 2016
“He has the utmost respect for the military members and cadets,” Noah’s representative told TMZ Sports. “He just doesn’t agree with war.”
“At the end of the day, I’m not anti-troops. It’s just not comfortable for me to see kids going out to war and coming back having seen what they’ve seen, having done what they’ve done. It’s sad for me. It’s sad for me because they’re just sent out for things that I don’t really want to get into it to be honest with you. It’s hard for me.” added Noah.
New Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek supports Noah’s decision and made his point known publicly, while also understanding where Noah, a dual-citizen of the US and France, is coming from.
“That’s his right. He wants to be a part of the team group and do everything the team is doing. He just didn’t feel comfortable (attending the dinner),” Hornacek said. “We’re not going to pressure him into doing that. We had the speaker who I thought was fantastic. I told him, maybe we can get a little copy, if there’s a copy of the speech, just so he can hear some of it. That’s his right.”
“Oh absolutely. Jo’s done, in all his stuff that he does against gun violence and all that, he just didn’t feel comfortable, so that’s plenty fine with us,” Hornacek continued.
As more and more athletes continue to make political stands and statements in a public way, do not be surprised to see more athletes do what Noah is doing. And to see his head coach backing him is also a positive development.
[ESPN; Bleacher Report; TMZ Sports]