He says that it isn’t about the murderous rampage in Connecticut  but Joakim Noah is putting an end to his ‘finger gun’ routine which he used to celebrate making big shots for the Chicago Bulls so far in his NBA career.

Gun control is the main thing in the news now, as more and more images from the lives taken and shaken up in Newtown, Conn keep showing up. It seems like the popular opinion these days is to attack anyone and anything promoting gun rights. The NBA might not be a reflective mirror of society, but sports and the community are intertwined, and it isn’t surprising to see reaction and changes from players in a league that has had it’s share of problems regarding athletes and their habits of using guns.

It wasn’t just what happened in Connecticut. 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. 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.

Joakim Noah is enjoying a very good start to the season with 13.6 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. After a sluggish start, the Chicago Bulls are hitting some sort of impressive form, currently 14-10, winning 7 of their last 10 games. Their last win came on Tuesday against the Boston Celtics, Noah finishing with a 11-13-10 triple double.