CHICAGO — Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah said he no longer will do his six-shooter celebration with his fingers out of respect for the victims who lost their lives in Newtown, Conn., on Friday. “I started doing it in practice,” Noah said after recording a triple-double in a 100-89 victory over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. “I hit a jump shot in Keith Bogans‘ face and I started doing (it) and kept doing it and it was kind of a funny, comical thing, but I guess we’re in a situation right now where it’s not funny.

“You can’t joke around with things like that. Too many people are dying because of guns. We have a problem here with guns, so (I’m) just trying to be a little bit compassionate about what’s going on. You can’t joke around — it’s not a laughing matter anymore.” Noah, who has been outspoken against gun violence on Twitter, spoke to gang members in Chicago over the summer and has tried to use his platform as an NBA star to stop violence.

“I think it’s what happened in Connecticut that was really shocking to a lot of people but things like that have been going on,” he said. “We have a serious problem with that in Chicago. It’s crazy, man. You just hear about … the summer and the movie theatre (in Aurora, Colo.); it’s happening all the time. This is just unheard of. Every story is just horrific. It’s just not a joke. This gun thing in this country is no joke.” Noah said his celebration, in which he fired imaginary six-shooters in the air and then holstered them by his shorts after knocking down a jumper, didn’t get much of a reaction before the tragedy in Connecticut. But he got some feedback on social media and decided to end the routine for good.

This is one of those things where if you actually thought Joakim Noah shooting imaginary guns after he hits a jumper was Joakim Noah promoting gun violence then you’re a fucking moron. But with that said, its just easier to not do this anymore. Like I said last week. Noah gets it. Both on and off the court. This move was hilarious, mainly because Noah was basically pretending to be some ice cold sharp shooter draining threes when in reality he has the ugliest jumper in the history of basketball. It was the one time a professional athlete was making a somewhat self deprecating joke. But it’s the right move to cancel it. People are sensitive right now, and not doing it is a lot easier than doing it and having everyone take offense or misunderstand your intentions.

PS

I love Celtics fans crying about how irritating Noah is last night after he dropped a triple double in their eye. “He’s so annoying”. “He screams and yells”. “He puffs out his chest, blah blah blah”. Do Celtics fans lack that much self awareness? Noah does EXACTLY what KG does on the court. They’re like identical twins in how they act. Yet one is annoying and one is an “ubuntu warrior”? That makes sense.