Joakim Noah arrived at West Point as a pacifist and left the same way.<\/p>\n
On Saturday \u2014 the final day of Knicks\u2019 camp at the U.S. Military academy \u2014 Noah was unrelenting in his views on war and the reasons he skipped out on dinner with the cadets. The morning after Knicks public relations went into damage control and sent out photos of Noah conversing with cadets, the center said meeting the young men in fatigues was \u201ccool,\u201d but there was nothing especially enlightening about their interaction.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has nothing to do with the cadets,\u201d Noah said. \u201cI have a lot of respect for the troops and the sacrifice that they bring for this country. It\u2019s just hard for me to see kids killing kids. It\u2019s my views. But it was cool just to be able to spend a little time with them, talk to them and just \u2014 they have a huge responsibility \u2014 to be able to talk to them about that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noah reiterated that his decision to forgo the team functions on Thursday night was because he felt uncomfortable in the military environment at West Point. He missed both the dinner and a speech from a retired Colonel.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was more just getting off the bus. It was a lot of activities, a lot of things, and I just didn\u2019t feel comfortable,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I decided to go back to the hotel. I\u2019m grown. I didn\u2019t mean any disrespect. It is what it is. I didn\u2019t feel comfortable being in that environment, so I went home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noah received support from multiple teammates, coach Jeff Hornacek, and apparently also Phil Jackson, who told his $72 million man to \u201cstand for what you believe in,\u201d Noah said. Marshall Plumlee, who was sworn into the Army last year with Duke\u2019s ROTC program, said he \u201crespects\u201d Noah\u2019s beliefs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey may not necessarily be my own. But that doesn\u2019t give me the right to dismiss them or anything like that,\u201d Plumlee said. \u201cI support him just as he supports me.\u201d<\/p>\n