Royce White skips game and practice (UPDATE: White issues statement)

He re-tweeted just 5 hrs ago. Probably went to sleep early after staying up late last night.

 

What did he re-tweet?

 

I found it. Well at least he settled down a bit.

 

sorry if already posted ... Chrix Bernucca's on the situation
http://www.sheridanhoops.com/2012/11/15/sheridan-hoops-weekly-rookie-rankings/

 

What do y'all think about the Rockets now proceeding to fine Royce White for every practice and therapist session he misses?

At this point, I think Morey is already seeing what value he has in a trade.

 

'Get off the couch, Get on the plane, not just the bus'.

This guy needs to get his head on straight.

 

It's a simple choice, either go to team activities(practice/shootaround/games) or go to see the therapist instead. If he does neither of those things, he gets fined.

I dont see the problem...they aren't asking for anything they wouldn't ask of any other player. The problem is with this kid who evidently doesn't see the value of doing the things he is getting paid to do.

 

some bad team will low ball us for Royce and give him the minutes he wants, so in that sense it might work out for him

 

1) We should't trade him with his value so low, and potential reward still high(none of the issues change anything about his potential/ability on the court). Think about Cousins last season...

2) We shouldn't release him(at least not yet), because he's indeed a major investment. And right now I don't see him causing major problem in locker room being away at home.

3) A lot of reports about playing time and reluctance to see assigned doctor maybe true, but put yourself in his shoes and without the recent drama those are understandable requests.

4) I think the team understands all the thing above, so they are on the right track. We should probably trust Morey's strategy.

BTW, The one rookie Morey was most excited about in post draft interview is - Royce White. Before giving up on him, think about Morris for a second...

 

this, no upside to trading him now, he's not that much of a distraction really (out of sight out of mind)

 

If he gets scared of going to practice how is he going to handle NBA pressure defense?

 

Yes! I can't say it any better myself. He needs to stop taking to twitter to voice his every opinion and just work on himself. Twitter is doing nothing but blackballing his career.

 

While everything is obviously a huge deal to Royce, and he garners a lot of sympathy for his condition(s), like you, I can't help but see this from the side of Rockets management, as well. White is a multi-million dollar investment by the team. Was he a risk? Of course, but they could hardly have expected him to "tweet" about all of this endlessly, with confusing comments that often don't make sense, at least to me. Comments that seem to "blame" management without actually saying what he's blaming them for. Missing practice while doing so. White is becoming quite a distraction for the team, with several young players fighting for spots in the rotation in competition with Royce, who is not helping himself at all. The young man fails to see how he's hurting himself with his very public confusion. Fails to see how he is hurting the team. Fails to see what a distraction he is to both the coaching staff, and management. Fails to see these things, or sees them and is helpless to end or even modify his behavior, apparently.

As I said, I have a lot of sympathy for Royce and his condition, but at some point, the Rockets will cut him loose if this continues. White refuses to see a doctor the team has selected to get a "read" on White's condition(s), something reasonable on the Rockets part, in my opinion, and to offer treatment if Royce is interested. The doctor is not chump change. He's an elite doctor in his field. They will have to cut Royce loose, IMO, if he refuses all efforts by the team to figure out just where White is at with his mental health issues. This can't go on all year. At the bottom of everything rests the Houston Rockets and putting the best team they can cobble together on the floor. This season, regardless of what White may think, and he clearly thinks a lot about everything, doesn't depend on Royce White. He's balancing on a knife edge, in my opinion. Whether he realizes that, or not, Royce is busy putting Rockets management in the position of having to take action in order to put this behind them. They were, and are, willing to accommodate White. That's not an open ended, blank check of accommodation. It's a chance, and Royce is damned lucky the Rocks took a chance on him.

 

I totally sympathize with Royce. But since he's not doing what is needed to deal with his problem whether he has reasons for it or not, adding incentive and not enabling should be a good thing. I don't think it's wrong to start fining Royce.

Obviously whatever other incentives were there haven't worked. It's important to not enable detrimental behaviors. I just hope that it works for Royce's sake, and he gets the help he needs.

 

Trading him???... what team in their right mind would even claim him off waivers if the Rockets cut him? He's a potential PR nightmare for any team.

He might very well get picked up, but it would be with zero accomidations, and zero risk to the organization if they needed to cut him at first tweet.

No way, the Rockets are able to trade him, unless he somehow explodes on the court to become a superstar calliber player. That's the only way I see a team investing in his salary, and giving up an asset of any size to get him.

 

What seems to be lost by some of you is that you expect someone with a mental disorder to behave normally. If he was able to consistently behave normally he wouldn't have a mental disorder. That doesn't give him an unlimited get of jail free pass for his actions, but there is some misinformation out there and none of the "negative" information has come from official Rockets statements.

The facts are:

1) Royce has missed games and practices.

Uncomfirmed rumors from various media outlets regarding this include:

Spoiler

A) The problems started shortly after a meeting he had with Morey complaining about playing time. He didn't feel he was getting a chance to earn playing time, so he expressed concern that this would lead to anxiety issues. The report implied that perhaps he was threatening the team by skipping practices to force playing time. Of course no one in their right mind would expect that to work even if it were accurate.

B) He complained of physical ailments that caused him to miss practices, and the doctor said they were not physical, but rather mental. The Rocket's said he has to see their doctor if he misses any more team functions, he wants to see his own.

C) He found out he was going to the d-league, so he started acting up.​

The d-league part has been refuted in part at least because he missed the practices before he was told he was going to the Dleague.

2) Royce doesn't want to see the Rocket's doctor.

Related news, unconfirmed rumors and theories:

Spoiler

A) Therapy sessions with the team appointed have been available since day 1 and he hasn' attended any of them.

B) Royce doesn't feel comfortable with the team doctor. It is unclear if he has even met him yet in person or not.

C) The fan theory that Royce is lazy and doesn't want to practice or put in any work, so he is using the condition as an excuse to skip it.​

Personally I don't put much stock in C. Royce deserves criticism for not seeing the team doctor at all, if it is true. Not feeling comfortable with the team doctor is only reasonable if he has at least actually met him in person. If he is going to be uncomfortable with ANY doctor other than his personal doctor, then that is a compromise he is going to have to make if he wants employment with the Rockets or most other employers. The problem for the Rocket's is that Dr Fink is the only one connected to the team who IS educated to understand Royce's situation and help him deal with it, but Royce doesn't seem willing to meet with him. If there is some thing specific about Dr Fink that Royce doesn't feel comfortable with, then the Rockets should consider a different doctor.

3) Royce doesn't feel the team is supporting him.

News, rumors and theories:

Spoiler

A) The Rocket's won't let Royce use his personal doctor as the only source of therapy, insisting on their own any time he misses a team function.

B) Royce has not been specific on what, if anything, other than this, that the Rocket's have or have not done that he wants them to do. This is hard for fans to understand, since the reports have implied he only has to see the Rocket's doctor if he misses team functions due to his condition.

C) Royce is complaining about the Rocket's lack of support, but does not appear to be willing to accept the help that has been offered, or give a clear public statement about what he feels needs to change in order for him to be happy.​

4) Royce thinks that twitter is the best way to resolve this issue.

Rumors, theories, and news:

Spoiler

A) Royce doesn't appear to trust the media and seems to believe discussing the problem on a public forum is the best way to resolve it.

B) Royce has posted several things that are either incorrect, inappropriate, or show a huge lack of understanding on his part, which different reader's will interpret different ways, often negatively.

C) Royce is absolutely making mistakes in discussing his problems in an unfiltered and unmoderated forum like twitter, where of course idiots are going to come out in force. There are plenty of commenters who prove his point about the general disdain and misunderstanding of mental illness, but it can't be healthy for him to be engaging in those discussions with people who aren't likely to change their minds.

D) Royce is absolutely making mistakes in calling out his employer publicly.

E) If Royce is unwilling or unable to detail EXACTLY what he thinks the Rocket's need to do to "support him" that they aren't then it is impossible for the general public to sympathize. And that isn't even to say that discussing
those issues with the public would be appropriate, private discussions with the Rockets would be better. But he can't win a public rally of support if no one really understands what he is complaining about or wants changed.
​

5) Royce already set the fans on edge by basicly holding out after he already had a contract to get his travel situation resolved, causing him to miss training camp.

Spoiler

A) Missing training camp set his progress back as it would for any rookie who missed training camp.
B) Most fans and at least McHale, thought he should be at camp while his agent worked out the travel arangments. Especially since he wouldn't have to travel at all during that week of training camp.​

Royce obviously has a problem and his way of dealing with the situation is going to reflect negatively on him in the eyes of most of the general public. He has made numerous mistakes and he is responsible for not accepting all the aid that has been offered. He may or may not have genuine issues that the Rockets aren't helping him enough with. If he refuses to see the rocket's doctor, then it is hard to blame the Rockets for anything without more information. He deserves critcism for his handling of the situation via twitter, but that doesn't mean he deserves for people to wish harm, misfortune and name calling on him. Like I said earlier, expecting a mentally ill person to act "normally" is probably unrealistic and it is becoming more apparent that White's mental issues go beyond just a fear of flying.

 

Anyone have a "greatest" hits of Royce White tweets?

 

Sorry if you covered this in your spoilers, didn't read those. How do you know his behavior is a direct result of his mental disorder? How do you know he's not acting out due to his immaturity but in doing so he thinks he's justified to do so because he's on a cause to make people aware of mental illness?

People aren't defined entirely by their disorder. They can still exhibit behavior unrelated to the disorder that ought to be held accountable like every other responsible adult in society. A mental disorder shouldn't necessarily excuse poor behavior.

Again this is all predicated on distinguishing if his actions are a direct result of his mental illness or not.

 

so .................... long............

admire u

so.....much....

hate??

 

I'm having a hard time with this. I think we all have anxiety on some level, so trying to figure out the severity of his is difficult for anyone not "in-the-know"of Royce's condition. It's possible that he is on the far end of the spectrum where he is borderline autistic when it comes to a fear of flying, a fear or unfamiliar surroundings, or a fear of even the slightest alteration of a very strict routine.

It's also possible that he is on the other end of the spectrum where he has an anxiety disorder that causes him to act in an unusual way if confronted with situations he is uncomfortable with. I have aspects of my job that cause me a certain level of anxiety; such as public speaking, conducting training classes, or monthly meetings with upper management. I don't feel the need to take medication for these anxieties because I manage it internally and try to use my nerves to my advantage. Some people can do that and others can't.

It appears RW is someone who can't manage it and needs medication to overcome it...OR, he is choosing to use his "disorder" as an excuse to act petulant and say that "earning" playing time causes anxiety. This is where I'm struggling with this. The people I know with severe anxiety (as he would have us believe he has) wouldn't be able to step on a basketball court in front of 15K people. They also wouldn't send a billion tweets everyday out of fear of what people will think of them.

As an employer, the Rockets have to manage each employee's disability with utmost care, whether a player or a ticket salesman. IMO, they've done so with Royce by conceding the travel expectation and lining up a doctor for him to visit. At the same time, they still have to treat each employee equally while allowing for certain concessions for those with handicaps or disabilities. They can't promote someone in sales who's numbers are terrible just because they have a disability. They can't hand RW playing time because not doing so gives him anxiety. It is still a job and he still has to earn it, the same as the guy selling tickets. This is where the breakdown is.

Part of me wants to tell him to man up, earn playing time is spite of his disability, and prove to everyone with anxiety that they too can overcome their fears and become successful. The other part of me sees a young, immature kid who, when confronted with a difficult situation, quits and tries to blame other people for his inadequacies. Saying the Rockets are using his disorder against him is reckless and uncalled for. They merely expect from him what they expect from any other player: Show up for work, work harder than the guy trying to take your minutes, and earn your own spot in the rotation. He isn't doing that. He started out behind everyone else by missing parts of training camp, something he could have avoided by just coming to camp.

I think 99% of this is on Royce. Perhaps 1% is on the coaching for not at least getting him (and the other rookies) on the floor for a spell just to see what they can do...but they are certainly not obligated to do that. Royce is however, obligated to show up for work and bust his ass. He's choosing not to do that.