Joakim Noah‘s six-shooter celebration was always a little unsettling, especially considering the Bulls center plays in Chicago, where there is just way too much violence.
However, the Florida alum is putting away his guns for good, and he’s saying he now realizes that it’s insensitive, especially given recent events.
Noah says he’s done with the imaginary gun celebration in wake of last week’s tragic elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn.
“You can’t joke around with things like that,” Noah said after Tuesday’s win over the Celtics, according to NBA.com. “Too many people are dying because of guns. We have a problem with guns. So just trying to be a little bit compassionate about what’s going on.”
He started the celebration during the 2010-11 season, but has since reconsidered using the celebration.
“It was kind of like a funny, comical thing. But I guess we’re in a situation where it’s not funny.
“It’s what happened in Connecticut. That was shocking to a lot of people. But things like this have been going on. We have a serious problem with that in Chicago. It’s crazy man. You just hear about this summer, a movie theater. It’s just happening all the time. It’s horrible. … This gun thing in this country is no joke.”
Coincidentally, Noah had a triple-double in Chicago’s win Tuesday night over Boston.
