WEST POINT, N.Y. _ Joakim Noah skipped Thursday night's Knicks' team dinner with Army cadets because he is anti-war, and said he has mixed feelings about spending this week at the United States Military Academy for training camp.
Noah, the new Knicks center, was the only player not to attend the dinner, at which a retired colonel spoke to the group about team building.
"It's hard for me a little bit," Noah said Friday. "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."
This is the third straight year the Knicks have held training camp at West Point. One of the highlights for the players and coaches has been the dinner with cadets and the speeches.
Noah said he wasn't taking a stand, but he just didn't feel comfortable being there. He has dual citizenship, French and American. Noah has played for the French national team, but said he wasn't comfortable doing that.
"I'm not a very patriotic person to be honest," Noah said. "I don't understand the whole flags, supporting flags. I'm more into supporting people."
Noah informed Jeff Hornacek that he would not be coming to the dinner. The Knicks' new coach said he "absolutely" understood.
"Well, that's his right," Hornacek said. "He wants to be a part of the team 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 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.
"In all his stuff that he does against gun violence and all that, he just didn't feel comfortable, so that's plenty fine with us."
Noah has a foundation called Noah's Arc. Its mission is for children "to become more aware and conscious of their ability to make a positive impact."
