As if Joakim Noah didn't already have a steep enough climb with his Chicago Bulls down 2-0 in their Eastern Conference first round playoff series to the Washington Wizards, TMZ Sports is reporting Noah was also embroiled in a messy lawsuit recently.
Noah sued Le Coq Sportif, a French sneaker company he once served as the face of, claiming their subpar equipment may have led to plantar fasciitis and the company also defrauded him out of $1.65 million in unpaid salary.
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According to TMZ, back in 2007, the 29-year-old NBA Defensive Player of the Year signed a six-year, $6 million dollar endorsement deal with Le Coq Sportif, but shortly after that he alleges in court papers that the company shuttered its U.S. offices, fired the representative with whom he inked the deal, and started looking for ways to renege on the agreement.
In 2013, lawyers for Noah contend the company completely stopped paying their client, even though he had worn the shoes in every NBA game he'd played in since 2007. Noah adds the shoes were never "well designed and likely contributed to my development of plantar fasciitis."
During the Bulls 2012-13 playoff run, Noah missed several key games with an ankle injury he hints he now feels was at least partly caused by his less than up to par footware.
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