The New York Knicks played host to the West Point cadets this week at a special dinner in the team’s training camp. The event also involved speeches from members of the military.
One Knicks player that didn’t attend was the newly acquired center, Joakim Noah. The 2014 NBA Defensive Player Of The Year cited an anti-war stance as the reason for his absence, as per Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
“I wasn't there to be honest with you. 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.
“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. It's sad for me. It's sad for me.”
His new coach, Jeff Hornacek, revealed that Noah spoke to him about the issue.
“That's his right,” said Hornacek. “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. We had the speaker (the ex-colonel) 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.”
Noah has been promoting peace in the city of Chicago for years and is known to be one of the most honest, expressive players in the league.
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