Joakim Noah will no longer celebrate with ‘finger guns’ following Newtown tragedy

After posting the second triple-double of his career on Tuesday night, Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah had quite a bit to celebrate.

However, according to The Sporting News, the high-energy, enigmatic player will no longer celebrate with his ‘finger guns’ salute.

Why? Whatever celebrating he wanted to do on the court was tempered by the awful shooting tragedy that took place in Newtown, Connecticut, but to him, the issue runs far deeper than that.

“It wasn’t just what happened in Connecticut,” Noah said. “You just have to be kind of compassionate about what’s going on, man. We have issues with guns. Gun violence in this country is out of control and you’ve just got to be sensitive to that. I love this country. This country did so much for me.

“But I think it’s important to be more critical and we have issues. I feel just as American as I do French and the issues are complicated, but you’ve got to be sensitive and a lot of kids are dying. In Chicago, a lot of kids are dying in the streets, so that’s why I’m not doing that anymore.”

Noah’s father, Yannick, was a French tennis star and his mother, Cecilia Rhode, was Miss Sweden 1978. Noah was born in New York but lived in France until he was 13. He holds French, Swedish, and American passports.

Now, he is an ambassador for all of his countries as well as the Chicago Bulls organization as a first-round draft pick and a vocal on-court leader.

With his decision to retire his ‘finger guns’ salute, Noah has shown that he is taking his position as a public figure seriously.

Latest from around Gamedayr >> Providence College wears special uniforms in a touching commemoration to the victims of the Sandy Hook tragedy.

What do you think Gamedayrs?