Joakim Noah's absence from West Point dinner a moral decision
When drafted, signed, or traded, the expectation of any athlete is to adopt that team’s policies and traditions. For example, the New York Yankees have a longstanding policy that none of their athletes or coaches are allowed to have facial hair outside of a mustache. Being a member of the organization means following this rule, and so each year new additions to the team are breaking out their razors.
While not nearly as longstanding as the Yankees’, the New York Knicks have their own rule in place.
For the past three years, including this year, the Knicks have hosted their training camp at the West Point campus. The athletes use camp to prepare themselves for the season, but having it on the campus allows for communication and bonding between the high-profile athletes and members of the military. This is one of the many ways that the Knicks and the NBA show their military support.
During the week-long camp, the players participate in the typical practices and workouts, but one additional aspect of their time on campus is a dinner with the cadets and colonels. This is an event that all present at the camp are expected to attend. This year however, the rule was not followed by every athlete, as Joakim Noah chose not to attend.
Noah is set to begin his first year with the Knicks after being signed in free agency this summer. As expected, his decision to skip out on the dinner received a fair amount of criticism from the media and the Military Academy. Lt. Colonel Christopher Kasker spoke out on Noah’s decision with great disappointment. Kasker's full quote is as follows:
“The U.S. Military Academy at West Point develops leaders of character for the defense of our Nation. We are disappointed and feel Mr. Noah’s choice of West Point to make a statement is inappropriate because of the great sacrifice that has originated from this institution over our Nation’s history.”
When questioned by the media the day after the dinner, Noah was quick to set the record straight. He explained that his decision to skip the dinner was a result of his inability to support kids killing each other. While he does support the kids and this country, he says that he has mixed feelings about what we ask kids to do in war, and was therefore uncomfortable around the military. Noah’s full statement can be seen in the link below.
[Noah skips dinner with cadets over anti-war stance]Noah’s choice created a negative media image, and so in the days following, the Knicks organization worked hard to improve it. The PR staff published several images on their twitter page of interactions between Noah and the cadets. One of the images even came with the caption, “I appreciate all that you do for us. Respect!”
"I appreciate all that you do for us. Respect!" pic.twitter.com/Nicj4TqvTr
— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) October 1, 2016
Questions and answers pic.twitter.com/YihPw7Db7g
— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) October 1, 2016
The Knicks organization also gave their statement to the media, in which they showed support for Noah’s lack of appearance. Head Coach Jeff Hornacek stated that Noah came to him prior to the dinner and voiced his uneasiness with the event, and so he gave Noah permission to not attend. Hornacek felt that it would be wrong to force Noah to attend if it did not agree with his personal beliefs.
The high rate of social injustice in today’s society has led to the public expression of individual opinion and belief. Colin Kapernick and his supporters, for example, have taken to kneeling during the national anthem to express their disapproval of the injustice. As all sports followers know, this decision has come under great criticism by the public, but this has not deterred Kapernick and other from supporting their beliefs. Noah’s choice to skip the dinner is simply another form of expression, and while the public may not agree with him, we should not look down on Noah in any way.
Noah properly communicated with the coaching staff and the media about his feelings on the matter, and he should be respected for that. Rather than putting Noah in an uncomfortable situation where he is forced to share the majority’s views, we should honor Noah’s honesty and realize that there are people in society who think and feel differently than us.
