Even though Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah was recently crowned with the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award and led the Bulls to playoff action, it wasn't looking so great last season. Slowed down by plantar fasciitis that significantly affected his game, we didn't see that same defensive intensity from Noah and critics were quick to place the blame on Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau for playing Noah too many minutes.
Well, Bulls fans, it looks like you can't blame Thibs any longer for that injury. TMZ is reporting that Noah is suing French footwear company Le Coq Sportif—who he signed with in 2007—for not paying him what he was owed and for likely contributing to his plantar fasciitis because the sneakers were "not well designed." Well, besides this and being down 0-2 in the series against the Wizards, things are looking pretty good for the Defensive Player of the Year, right?
[via Yahoo! Sports]
Update: Joakim Noah has since issued a statement about his relationship with the Le Coq Sportif brand.
“I was part of the le coq sportif family for almost seven years, a great affiliation that I have really appreciated. Le coq sportif teams were supportive of me and I enjoyed working with le coq sportif to develop a new, advanced basketball shoe that I wore daily in the NBA until the 2013-2014 season. I am glad that le coq sportif was my partner right after university, until my first All Star game. Le coq sportif’s relationship with the Noah family has been strong for more than thirty years and will remain as such. I will always remember cool moments with the brand such as ads with my father and other athletes, as well as my appearance at great events such as le Tour de France.”
