Bulls' Joakim Noah suing former shoemaker for failing to pay and contributing to his foot injuries

Chicago Bulls star Joakim Noah's father, Yannick, wore Le Coq Sportif footwear during his legendary tennis career, so it didn't come as much of a surprise when the Bulls' center signed on with the French brand when he entered the NBA in 2007.

The younger Noah has enjoyed plenty of success on the hardwood wearing the shoe, but he hit a speed bump in 2012-13 when his season was derailed by plantar fasciitis.

Many blamed Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau for overworking Noah, Noah himself is blaming the shoes.

He's also accusing Le Coq Sportif of not paying up on money owed as part of a six-year, $6 million deal.

TMZ is reporting that Noah and Le Coq Sportif are now suing each other.

Noah quietly declared war on the French company in a D.C. court back in November ... claiming LCS signed him to a 6-year $6 million deal back in 2007, only to screw him out of more than $1.65 million. 

In the suit, Noah says he was pumped about the deal at first -- but shortly after he signed, LCS shut down its U.S. offices, fired the guy who signed Noah and started looking for ways to back out of the deal.  Noah claims things came to a head in 2013 when they suddenly stopped paying him money he believed they were obligated to pay. 

Noah says despite the negative energy, he held up his end of the bargain -- and wore Le Coq shoes in every NBA game he played even though he claims they were "not well designed and likely contributed to [my] development of plantar fasciitis."

Noah missed 16 games in 2012-13. He has since signed an endorsement deal with adidas.