Teammates extend Noah's punishments

ATLANTA _ Bulls rookie Joakim Noah sat out a second game Sunday afternoon in Atlanta after his teammates decided to extend the original punishment.

The 6-foot-11 center was inactive for Friday's win at Philadelphia after getting into a verbal altercation with assistant coach Ron Adams at the morning shootaround.

When Bulls veterans Ben Wallace and Adrian Griffin called a players-only meeting after Saturday's practice at Georgia Tech, they recommended that Noah sit out a second game, then had the players vote. Obviously, the motion was passed.

"It was a situation that we thought got a little out of hand," Wallace said prior to Sunday's game. "You should always have respect for the fact that it's a grown man that you were talking to and you always should respect that fact.

"I think the coaches and players relationships sometimes are built to get a little volatile, a little hostile, but I don't ever think it should go to that level."

Coach Jim Boylan stressed that this incident shouldn't reflect on Noah's character or his popularity among teammates.

"The players like Joakim," Boylan said. "I think Joakim is a great kid. He's got a good heart and he means well. It just that this is a different setting. It's not college anymore. It's a the NBA. It's professional sports. You're dealing with different types of people; more mature, older people."

Noah was subdued in the locker room at Philips Arena and didn't seem comfortable talking about the message delivered by his teammates.

"Do I agree with it? It doesn't matter," he said. "It doesn't make a difference. I respect my teammates and I respect their opinions and stuff like that. I've just got to deal with it and move on."