Joakim Noah Is Suing Le Coq Sportif

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

Joakim Noah has had a fantastic year, taking home Defensive Player of the Year while leading his Bulls to a 48-34 record despite the prolonged absence of Derrick Rose. One coincidence with Noah's finest season was his switch to adidas after a long tenure with Le Coq Sportif. The brand has history with Noah's family as his father was a sponsor of Le Coq Sportif during his Tennis career.

Either way, Noah's suing the the French company for numerous reasons:

Noah quietly declared war on the French company in a D.C. court back in November ... claiming LCS signed him to a 6-year $6 million deal back in 2007, only to screw him out of more than $1.65 million.


In the suit, Noah says he was pumped about the deal at first -- but shortly after he signed, LCS shut down its U.S. offices, fired the guy who signed Noah, and started looking for ways to back out of the deal. Noah claims things came to a head in 2013 when they suddenly stopped paying him money he believed they were obligated to pay.


Noah says despite the negative energy, he held up his end of the bargain -- and wore Le Coq shoes in every NBA game he played even though he claims they were "not well designed and likely contributed to [my] development of plantar fasciitis."


Noah says his medical condition likely linked to the crappy shoes "caused him to miss several games during the 2012-13 Chicago Bulls NBA season, including key games in the NBA playoffs."

Noah missed 16 games last year and his foot problems became a major issue throughout the season as the Bulls made their stretch run into the playoffs against the Nets. Now it seems like better days for Noah who has played in the most games of his career since 2009 when he was 23. Didn't Noah realize that Le Coq Sportif isn't really a trusted basketball brand? That's a mistake on his part and could cost him in a countersuit that Le Coq Sportif has chosen to run with against him.

H/T Ball Don't Lie via TMZ

Rafael Canton is a freelance writer from Queens, NY and contributor to Sneaker Report. Anytime there is a conversation about the NBA, music, or nutella, he can be found in the thick of the discussion. He can be found on Twitter @RafelitoC7.

RELATED: Joakim Noah Makes History in adidas adiPure Crazyghost

RELATED: Joakim Noah Signs with adidas