[druneave3Participant]

http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2012/12/royce-white-issues-statement-refusing-his-d-league-assignment/

This statement would frighten me as an organization if I were the owner or any member of it. I would be very careful how I handled his situation. They need to support him. Give him the bus or whatever he wants while he is on your team and you are trying to utilize his talents and what you are paying him millions of dollars for. What is a few more bucks for a bus, therapy, and the cost of him missing a few games when he needs a day off. You knew there were concerns and he would have special needs when you drafted him, and now you are not willing to meet those needs and support him? That is why he was red flagged by so many teams.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

I’m very empathetic to Royce’s issues, but what exactly does he want???

[the I in winParticipant]

To play only home games but be paid for all of them, to be the focal point of the team when he plays and for them to figure something else out when he is at home chillin because planes are scary. My sympathy for him has been spent.

[druneave3Participant]

But they knew that going in.

[220Participant]

Maybe its just me, but I feel Royce White either needs to keep his problems in house or go to the NBPA. These public statements don’t truly benefit anyone and in truth they likely make White seem mentally unstable and unaccountable.

Best of luck to Royce, hopefully he can figure something out.

[BasketballJunkie224Participant]

there has to come a point in time where he either a.) dosnt play in the nba, or b.) gets over these plane issues

[phila9012Participant]

He is making it seem like he has an in surmountable mental illness. I think he needs to get his life together and understand that if he wants to play in the NBA there is a lot of sacrifices. If he is really depressed and has other issues than just a fear of flying, then basketball should be the last thing he is worrying about. Some people have issues that prevent them from doing what they love and those who realize there is a lot more than just that one thing can prosper.

This guy realized that he could do and experience a lot without having arms and legs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc4HGQHgeFE&list=FLWq5wDKisMHRAKAL4XR9z0w&index=1

Life is what you make it and royce white is trying to blame others for him not playing in the NBA, you only can control yourself, so he needs to decide whether he can make it work or not and if not find something else to do with his life.

[Toronto16Participant]

I’ve lost my patience and sympathy for Royce White.

[Lebron’s HairlineParticipant]

I felt sorry for the guy but then I realized some issues with him: he spends all day on twitter trying to get sympathy from everyone and how he needs”help” yet he makes no effort to reach out and make the first step, he wants to be paid for every game not just the ones he plays in, and he refused the D league assignment the rockets had for him. He needs I realize that this isnt college anymore, if you weren’t ready for the fast paced NBA life then why throw your name in the draft in the first place???

[Sewok15Participant]

Drug him up get him on a plane and then get him on the court. There are plenty of other players deserving of his spot in the league who aren’t complete headcases. He needs to get his act together quickly.

[220Participant]

Like BA Barracus (aka Mr. T) on the A Team.

[ThepessimestParticipant]

At this point Royce White is behaving as someone who feels he is entitled. Your employer is required to make accommodations for an employee; however, once they have done so the employee cannot refuse to work unless said employer meets their (unreasonable) standards. I understand that the NBA is far from the real world but in most cases if you cannot work under the special accommodations made then you may need to work in an environment that your mental health is not compromised.

I worked as a mental health worker and many of the individuals I worked with wanted to get back into work. But there were certain jobs that were not necessarily best for their situation. Royce White needs to determine if what he is asking is feasible given the profession HE HAS chosen.

Again my background is in the area of mental health and thus I understand. But there is a line that has to be drawn.

I wish Royce White nothing but the best.

[For_Never_EverParticipant]

He is talking to his Bosses like he is the Boss. He sounds very ungrateful to the team that took a chance on him, and I think any commendation the team makes likely wouldn’t be enough for him. I doubt after this season he’ll be in the NBA any longer. Teams aren’t going to be willing to put up with a rookie blasting his team in the media on a regular basis.

[KHAM83Participant]

When you’re talking about millions, no one in their right mind wouldnt do everything possible to make this work. Therefore, White is not in his right mind. I also dont believe that the Rockets organization would spend a high draft pick on someone, and not do everything “reasonable” to help their player. It seems to me Royce needs to step away from the game for a while, a year or 2, and get counseling at home. Even with or w/o being paid, he needs to tackle this problem with his family. Worry about getting his mind right, then if okay, he can think about returning to basketball.

[TyroberParticipant]

White needs to delete his twitter and shouldn’t be allowed to talk to the media anymore. This guy has become a broken record. How about he doesn’t receive any more fines and he doesn’t get a pay check anymore. He can see his own doctors and do whatever he wants because he doesn’t deserve to be in the NBA anymore. There was ONE team in the first round that was willing to take a chance on him. ONE. The Rockets were his only chance and he has spit in their face. I felt sorry for him at first, but this is just ridiculous now.

[paradigmnParticipant]

Since Royce White seems to have a little B.A. Barcus in him, I think the Rockets organization need to get a little bit of advice from The A-Team’s Hanibal Smith.

(embed option was disabled for video, sorry)

* Dang, didn’t see someone already mentioned the A-Team, my bad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaJOeLuUD94

[Pistol Pete. The PelicanParticipant]

This is far from an issue about planes. It’s the medical protocol that should be in place for a person with his condition. The Houston Rockets Doctors have set a plan that Royce agrees with, but the team hasn’t accepted it. For mental health illness, if your employer employs 50 people or more than you have the right to certain benefits, the only games Royce would have to fly a plane to are upper east coast, and the far west. So maybe 20 games a year.

Yet I think Royce and the Rockets have handled this wrong. Royce rants on twitter too much, and the Rockets actually have to help accommodate him according to national mental health guidelines.

[mds0549Participant]

He will never play in the league if he’s unwilling to spend his time getting in basketball shape and playing basketball like so many other players are willing to do. He thinks too much of his talent and just showed that he’s not a good team mate considering that Montejunas and others have been willing to go to the d league t o get some minutes.

My guess is that he gets released and will never play any pro basketball because other teams are going to find the same issues and maybe more.

[NiceWithTheRockParticipant]

He needs to do some self reflecting and figure if the NBA lifestyle is for him. If it’s this big a problem now, imagine when he actually gets into that cycle. And he needs to stop speaking out because it makes him and the organization look bad.

[HotSnotParticipant]

Remember before the draft when Royce was declaring that his anxiety issues wouldn’t affect his ability to play in the NBA?

I was onboard with the bus idea. I understood he requires “special treatment” due to his unique circumstances… but this latest episode is a joke. You can’t refuse to work and continue to blame management for your own personal demons.

White wants regular playing time for the Rockets however he obviously feels he doesn’t need to prove his basketball skills or win his spot in the rotation. This is very disrespectful to all of his teammates who are putting in the work every day and the entire Rockets organization who took a chance on him.

I have a feeling this guy is going to lose his “supporters” very quickly.

You can’t defend this crap anymore.

3 months and not a single “first step” has been taken… mostly because White wants to dictate the steps he takes. He can’t be told what to do or be bothered with what others want.

I really hope the Rockets don’t cave. Whites attitude and lack of willpower to even try to improve himself is annoying.

[The8thDeadlySinParticipant]

I feel bad for him but look at it like this:

If you dont have steady hands, should you be a surgeon?
If you have horrible balance, should you be a tight rope walker?
If you cant handle pressure, should you be a corproate executive?
If you pass out at the site of blood, should you be a police officer?

Now, Royce, if you are terrified to fly, should you be a NBA player?

[Mr. JewboyParticipant]

If he really can’t fly, come play in Israel. He could still make a pretty good salary (around 600,000) and the furthest you go is a 2 hour bus drive

[220Participant]

I think playing oveseas is likely to be the height of his career…that is if he can stomach the flight to get there…Maybe he just takes a boat. It would take much longer, but he’d still get there.

[JoeWolf1]

I think that was a real cheap shot to reference the highly publicized shootings by guys with mental health issues. We get it Royce, you have some issues you’re working through, but don’t be so damn dramatic. Is he incinuating he’ll shoot up someplace if he doesn’t get the help he needs? What is that paragraph? It’s either a cry for help because he feels like he’s going to do something rash, or a ploy to get sympathy. I have a hard time believing that Royce White playing in Rio will end up in mass murder, so I just feel he’s trying to touch a nerve with the public.

[LindseyParticipant]

I’m over this. Just feel sad really. He is so unique of a player, that regardless of his production stats wise, he would be one of my favourites to watch. Starting to look like I won’t get to for a long time.

[mds0549Participant]

http://www.nba.com/dleague/players/

Look at who else was willing to go down to the D League. Players that are much more accomplished than Royce’s 1 year at Iowa State after leaving the Gophers program due to some poor legal decisions on his part. He has basically found a way to fit in one year without documented problems between Minnesota and Houston.

The idea of him playing internationally is CRAZY, just like White. Players are completely babied in the US, as long as you have potential you will be treated like a star. Go overseas and they are going to give his OCD a real test. Put him in that situation with his support system thousands of miles away and he would self destruct like Eddie Curry at an all you can eat buffet.

I think that its great how Houston has come out and said that they won’t waive him. Keep his rights until he plays for you or until you can trade him for something worthwhile.

[JoeJoParticipant]

The Rockets did provide him with a “recreational vehicle” of whatever kind and allowed him to drive to certain games before he went AWOL They also provided a therapist for him to talk to after practices without being asked to but he didn’t talk to him once before he went AWOL. I don’t know how the Rockets have created such an unsafe and dangerous environment that he can’t even drive to their facilities and attend practices and workouts. It’s ridiculous.

And I doubt the Rockets knew all this about Royce. He did all he could to convince teams that his anxiety disorder wasn’t an issue, pointing out he had never missed a practice or game for Iowa State and that while flying wasn’t easy, he was still able to do it. This has a reach a level no team could have foreseen. So no, the Rockets couldn’t have known about this. If Royce had a history of missing games and practices for Iowa State and refusing to do things while citing vague issues of unsafe environments, well, I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t have drafted him. His college coach went to bat for him and he must be feeling pretty badly about it.

[HitsterParticipant]

Surely playing some D-League home games would be better for Royce than nothing at all. Is he being paid by Houston at the moment I wonder, is he producing medical notes etc?

I have a lot of sympathy for the guy but he was only the 18th pick, it’s not like a star player looking for consessions so far down his career or a veteran looking for a situation where they only play a limited amount of games to give them greater effectivness.

If Royce got his RV, what would happen if Jeremy Lin, James Harden etc started making demands of Coach McHale and Daryl Morey?

[JoeJoParticipant]

Royce got his RV. He drove to three games before he first left the Rockets months ago. People thinking this standoff between him and the Rockets is over driving to games are wrong.

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