Noah skips Knicks' dinner with cadets due to concerns about war
For the third consecutive year, the New York Knicks are holding training camp in West Point, N.Y., a federal military reservation and site of the U.S. Military Academy. While there, they have an annual dinner with the cadets, which features a speech from an ex-colonel.
Owing to his anti-war stance, new Knicks center Joakim Noah excused himself from the dinner this week.
"I wasn't there to be honest with you," Noah told reporters Friday. "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. 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."
Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said Noah was the only player who didn't attend the function, but said he has no issue with his center's decision.
"That's his right," Hornacek said. "He wants to be a part of the team group and do everything the team is doing. He just didn't feel comfortable. We're not going to pressure him into doing that."
Noah wanted to make clear that his pacifism doesn't mean he doesn't support the American troops - only the policies that necessitate their deployment.
"I'm not anti-troops. It's just not comfortable for me to see kids going to war and coming back having seen what they've seen and done what they've done," he said. "It's sad for me. It's sad for me. They're just sent out for things that are - I don't really want to get into it, to be honest with you. It's just hard for me."
Despite his hangups, Noah said he won't be kneeling during the national anthem this season, an increasingly far-reaching protest among athletes spurred by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
"I stand. I stand," Noah said. "I think there's a lot of topics that definitely need to be more than addressed. I think it's a very important time right now. I think it's great athletes are taking a stand. But it has to be about more than that. This country's out of control. Kids killing kids. And it has nothing to do with, people are talking about the anthem but that's not the point. There are things that need to be fixed."
Noah has long been a prominent spokesperson in the quest to curb gun violence in America. While playing with the Bulls, he was a strong voice against violence in crime-addled Chicago, making inroads with the city's youth through his Noah's Arc Foundation and his #ChicagoStandUp campaign.
In 2014-15, he was awarded the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, which is "presented annually by the Professional Basketball Writers Association to the player, coach or athletic trainer who shows outstanding service and dedication to the community."