Royce White refuses assignment to D-League (UPDATE: Rockets suspend him)

I couldn't resist. Finally sent him a simple tweet.

@Highway_30 U've taken a noble dispute and turned it into a war, Royce. The great leaders for change don't make it about themselves. #bewell

 

The best way for fans to get their point across is by unfollowing him & ignoring his tweets.

 

It sounds like the Rockets have taken the first steps to ending this situation. Too bad.

 

Other sources are reporting it as an indefinite suspension. I thought the 1 week suspension was odd but I thought Morey was giving him one more week to change his mind and come in.

From his tweets he has no intention of reporting, so indefinite may mean quite a long time until he changes his mind.

 

Somebody get this guy off the internet Royce is raging right now on twitter what a mess

 

i support royce white

 

No NBA team will pick him up after this. He's not worth the trouble,

 

What a shock. One of the most clueless people on this board supports Royce white

 

Most of us do, on some level. But we also support reason, compromise, good sense, sustainability, and the Houston Rockets.

 

I think you must have misunderstood him. I believe he was saying we need to cut ties with White as delicately and respectfully as possible because he's clearly a very disturbed person and something like suicide isn't outside of the realms of possibility. The harsher this situation gets, the more something like that becomes a very real concern.

As for the topic - this situation is breaking my heart. Like many of you, I watched the Grantland doc that covered his Draft day experience. It moved me. It literally brought a tear to my eye. I was excited to see him overcome his issues.

Then Summer League came around and he gave great interviews and showed flashes on the court. Again, I was excited.

And do you know what? Had he given it his all and eventually proven to be even a quality rotation guy, he had a chance to make a positive impact on the league. He could have been a very real part of making things better for future players with mental health issues.

But for some reason, he seems to think going to college and getting drafted was the accomplishment and now he's in a position to make changes in the NBA now. MAYBE if he were a top 3 pick that would be true. Obviously if he was the number one over-all he would have had even more leverage. But he was a 16th pick, and wasn't even the Rockets first 1st round pick. He also wasn't the last. He's one of three first round picks who should be fighting to prove they deserve to be in the league. And somehow, despite that, he thinks he can change the NBA?

When I speak to my friends from other cities about basketball, they talk about how surprisingly good the Rockets are. They talk about how James Harden is looking like a potential MVP one day. They talk about what a steal Chandler Parsons was. They talk about what a beast Asik has been. They talk about how Lin and Harden look like they're learning to thrive together. They never even mention Royce White. Because who cares? Who is he? A middle first round pick who isn't making the cut. Who cares why? There are even lottery picks who don't stick in the NBA. This is currently a non-story.

But what if he did what he was supposed to do? Then he could sit down with reporters and talk about his struggles and the hurdles he faces as a player with mental health issues giving his all to becoming successful in the NBA. That would have been a story. That would have gotten our attention and our admiration. That could have produced results. It may have inspired us to write letters to the Rockets and the NBA begging for some sort of #protocol to be put in place to make the NBA #safe for people with mental health issues.

But no. Instead, regardless of what the truth may be, all I see is a scared kid using mental health as an excuse to avoid risking failure. And that seems to be what most people see.

It's a damned shame.

 

Isn't part of getting over anxiety disorder to face your fears? Seems like there's no way in hell the guy will accept anything order than being active, playing minutes and staying in houston as much as possible. Suspension is pointless though, Rockets not handling this very well again.

 

Respect,beliefs on him - this are earned by sweating on and off the court.he wasnt even playing in dleague .How can we trust him?

 

did that two months ago..

someone mentioned suicide, look I am totally against something like that, but wouldn't be surprised..

 

Its been an incredibly frustrating experience with Royce...never have I wanted to strangle someone as badly as I want to strangle Royce...or at least shake the **** out of him until he understands his stupidity.

 

Royce White is terrible!!...Who raised this fool?!

 

there is nothing unsafe about the d-league. doctors probably said the best thing for royce white is to start playing in games. and he is interpreting it differently than Morey. He probably thinks he only has to play in the games and not practice.

Problem is that Royce White doesn't want accommodation for his mental illness, he wants to be treated like he is a prince.

 

This.

 

Looks like Royce has set the Rockets up for a lawsuit...

 

I suspect he doesn't want additional psychiatric/ physiological evaluations with independent doctors through the Rockets because they will add to his existing diagnosis of generalized anxiety DO and OCD.

There is clearly more going on with with this young man than GAD and OCD.

 

I want my mid-1st round pick back. What a poor asset Royce turned out to be.