Rockets agree to let Royce White be bussed to some games, pending league approval

glad they worked it out... this story was beginning to get more lift and takeoff from the media

 

LOLZ!!

 

Do we have a game on Thanksgiving Day?

 

Madden had to make, what 7 or 8 road games a year?

 

This is all good and everything, but the way I see it is he's gonna have to fly to some games, and actually not just some games but a lot of games. The pure logistics just won't allow for him to be bussed. My guess is that soon he's going to get over this fear of flying because of the 20 some flights he's going to have to take in his rookie season. This will all be water under the bridge.

 

The key word was ongoing.

 

There have been players drafted where their first professional action was to demand a trade and refuse to play for the team that drafted them.

While one player I am thinking ended up having other problems, he was very productive and dependable for several years once his initial demands were met.

So to me, the outcome isnt obvious yet.

 

I wish the guy nothing but the best in regard to his mental health, but I really feel at this time he's a distraction to the team. It'll be a long time before I can trust him to be reliable and that he will show up at every game, especially the important ones. So is the team going to have a game plan B for every game, in case he doesn't show?

Getting paid big money to play basketball for a living is a privilege, not a right. Maybe he should have figured it all out before choosing pro-basketball as a career. Oh well, I guess the Rockets need him more than he needs the team.

 

Steve Francis?

 

Seems like the ADA of 1990 spells it out pretty clearly and that the team and Royce are doing the right thing...

(8) Qualified individual

The term "qualified individual " means an individual who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the employment position that such individual holds or desires. For the purposes of this subchapter, consideration shall be given to the employer's judgment as to what functions of a job are essential, and if an employer has prepared a written description before advertising or interviewing applicants for the job, this description shall be considered evidence of the essential functions of the job.

(9) Reasonable accommodation

The term "reasonable accommodation" may include

(A) making existing facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities; and

(B) job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, acquisition or modification of equipment or devices, appropriate adjustment or modifications of examinations, training materials or policies, the provision of qualified readers or interpreters, and other similar accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

(10) Undue hardship

(A) In general

The term "undue hardship" means an action requiring significant difficulty or expense, when considered in light of the factors set forth in subparagraph (B).

(B) Factors to be considered

In determining whether an accommodation would impose an undue hardship on a covered entity, factors to be considered include

(i) the nature and cost of the accommodation needed under this chapter;

(ii) the overall financial resources of the facility or facilities involved in the provision of the reasonable accommodation; the number of persons employed at such facility; the effect on expenses and resources, or the impact otherwise of such accommodation upon the operation of the facility;

(iii) the overall financial resources of the covered entity; the overall size of the business of a covered entity with respect to the number of its employees; the number, type, and location of its facilities; and

(iv) the type of operation or operations of the covered entity, including the composition, structure, and functions of the workforce of such entity; the geographic separateness, administrative, or fiscal relationship of the facility or facilities in question to the covered entity.

 

The inevitable outcome is either he flys and plays or doesnt and doesnt when it comes to the majority of road games.

I dont see anything more the Rockets can do or give to White in this so the ball is in White's court. I truly hope you are right in that this blows over and is forgotten, but their are many signs that it may not. Anxiety based disorders are not worked through overnight and sometimes never are.

 

Correct

 

This has generated enormous free publicity for the team, and the issue was resolved quickly. The Rockets organization has nothing to complain about. They actually come out looking quite good - sympathetic and responsive.

 

Proposed Royce White bus design..

 

Let me toss a softball to our Carl Herrera joke generator: How can it be an odd number? Is he predicting something?

real answer

Spoiler

He wouldn't have to fly back after the last game of the year.

 

This sort of comparison is a bad one because this is the motherf'ing NBA. We have way more games that are closer together.

Still think that they granted him the bus option was a good move.

 

That fits an agent's profile, but Royce clearly did not follow an agent's profile in his pre-draft interviews when he was truthful enough to drop out of a sure Top 10 pick by admitting to have issues. An agent would want him to say something else.

So, it still doesn't fit the profile to think this was a tactical ploy.

 

I'm pretty sure an agent would want him to admit to it, if it's this big of an issue. A smaller issue, he could hide for years, maybe even his whole career. This? He couldn't even get past training camp. His agent would have told him to come clean and downplay the severity of it, which he did. Otherwise, I would think the team would have a valid reason to void his contract, wouldn't they?

And there's still no other explanation as to why Royce isn't in camp, when it's within driving distance and it doesn't cause him anxiety to attend.

 

He was a coach though, of an NFL Super Bowl champion. The dude doesn't attend team meetings. The coach IS the team meetings. He doesn't sleep. He meets with his coaches all the time. But not when on the bus.