Royce White's Implosion

[StuDiscus]

What I want to hear from this kid is how all he wants to do is play ball.
Have not heard anything like that yet, its always I want to play but....

People would kill to be in his position, I'm not walking in his shoes but if he wanted to work on his game and his disorder than the D-League seems like the perfect place to do it.

[Czvosec]

The thing is though, Royce using his mental condition to get playing time just doesn't line up with who he is and what people have said about him.

[Jon]

This was published well before the draft and makes it clear that his anxiety effects him to various extents in many circumstance, not just when he needs to hop on a plane.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bask...ege-basketball

[FiveThous]

Enjoy Enterprise Rent A Car Royce!

[Lionheart]

This guy made an effort to make it in most of his draft workouts and may have said the right things during his pre-draft Front Office interviews to the point of getting drafted. Now he does this? I can't help but feel like he's just bitching at this point. The classic "do well during the job interview but suck/slack/shit on the job scenario". Fuck that, hard.

[SuperSurge]

Enjoy Enterprise Rent A Car Royce!

"Hey! They got an excellent corporate structure and they give you the tools to be your own boss."

[Triumph36]

The thing is though, Royce using his mental condition to get playing time just doesn't line up with who he is and what people have said about him.

lol what? this is the same guy who stole clothes, shoved a police officer multiple times, stole a laptop, attention whored by announcing to leave school via youtube prior to speaking it the school itself, etc. he does not have a flawless history wrt: character and attitude.

not to mention him being an unprofessional prick throughout this entire ordeal...

[KB]

http://www.hardwoodparoxysm.com/2012...o-royce-white/

A Letter To Royce White
December 30, 2012 in by Jordan White with 2 Comments


Dear Royce White,

I’m done. I’m sorry, I tried, but I can’t do this anymore.

I wanted so badly to support you, to back you in your fight to raise awareness about mental illnesses and break the stigmas surrounding them. But it’s hard to believe that’s what you’re fighting for anymore.

At first, I thought you were fighting the good fight. You used your celebrity to speak out against the misconceptions surrounding anxiety. Was it uncomfortable at times? Yes, but the tough yet essential topics are always uncomfortable at first. Continued discussion is what makes them less so.

Teams were scared of you. You were outspoken about your anxiety in a realm in which most who suffer from mental illness keep quiet. And yet, your openness was what gave me, and countless others who suffer from mental illness, hope. When you were drafted, it seemed like a victory for all of us, those with a mental illness, and those who just wanted to see a player of your unique talents take the floor.

Unfortunately, things didn’t get off to a great start. Issues about travel and support systems arose instantly, and prevented you from being at training camp. Then it prevented you from playing in all of the Summer League games. But you did get on the court, and that should have been the start toa promising rookie campaign and a chance to show everyone that anxiety doesn’t have to control our lives.

Should have been. It wasn’t.

Instead, more issues surfaced, and you began a war of words, a war you couldn’t possibly win, with the ONE organization that was willing to take a chance on you. You called them unsupportive, uncaring, ignorant. You called them liars. You took to twitter, howling about this misdeeds and unsafe environment not just of the Rockets, but of the NBA itself. With every chance you got, every perceived slight, you railed against the very people who were trying to help. Only you didn’t want help. Help involves compromise, not bending over backwards to acquiesce to one’s every demand. More and more, it seems like that’s what you actually wanted. You wanted to get better, to join the team, but only on your terms.

There were those who tried to get through to you, to show you that although your heart was in the right place, the direction in which you were headed could only lead to disaster. But you didn’t, no, you wouldn’t listen.

You had the amazing opportunity to make an impact not just on the court, but off of it. You could have broken down barriers. You could have been a leader, a voice for the silent sufferers of mental illnesses, showing them that they don’t have to be ashamed.

And you blew it. Your #AnxietyTrooper and #TeamAnxiety rallying cries, once endearingly cheesy, are now outright embarrassments. Don’t you realize that with every petulant outburst or refusal, you’re further cementing the already negative misconceptions regarding mental health?

You’re not helping. You’re making it worse.

I hate writing about this. In a better world, a world for which you were supposedly a champion, I wouldn’t have to continuously write about you. I wouldn’t have to say that your actions are not representative of me, or anyone else who suffers from anxiety, or depression, or a multitude of other mental illnesses.

Once, it seemed like you were actually trying to help, addressing this taboo in a constructive manner. Now, it just appears you’re using your anxiety as a cover for…well…being an ass.

I know anxiety is a struggle. No, scratch that, I know anxiety is the asshole that holds your head underwater, lets you up just enough so you can remember what breathing feels like, then shoves your head underwater once more. But that doesn’t give you the right to be a petulant brat when you don’t get what you want.

Today, Royce, you lost most of the goodwill and trust your bravery and candor won you. It was already slowly eroding with each outburst against your employer, but when you referenced the Newtown tragedy in your statement refusing Houston’s D-League assignment, somehow equating the massacre of 28 people, 20 of whom were children, to your plight, you hammered the final nail into your own coffin. It was ignorant, and it was beyond disgraceful.

It’s a terrible thing to lose hope. But I’ve lost all hope in you, Royce.


Signed,

Jordan White

[FiveThous]

The most shocking part of that letter is that people actually had hope for this primadonna

[Jon]

The most shocking part of that letter is that people actually had hope for this primadonna

I thought we were all wondering how it was that a player who feared flying was going to work on an NBA team that flies everywhere?

Was Royce just supposed to spend a weak with a Psychiatrist and get over it?

[Len]

I thought we were all wondering how it was that a player who feared flying was going to work on an NBA team that flies everywhere?

Was Royce just supposed to spend a weak with a Psychiatrist and get over it?

[Czvosec]

lol what? this is the same guy who stole clothes, shoved a police officer multiple times, stole a laptop, attention whored by announcing to leave school via youtube prior to speaking it the school itself, etc. he does not have a flawless history wrt: character and attitude.

not to mention him being an unprofessional prick throughout this entire ordeal...

I don't claim to know the guy. I'm just going off what I've heard from people that have talked to him/know him. And it just doesn't add up.

The past history aside, using this mental condition specifically to get playing time doesn't fit.

But we're certainly allowed to have differing opinions.



(EDIT: And that's not to say I agree with the way he's handled this. He should not be constantly tweeting things about the situation, sending out snide comments and other vagaries. The way he's acted has been completely unprofessional... but I can see the message he's trying to get at. The way he's going about it though is just completely off base.)

[Douglar]

I can see the message he's trying to get at. The way he's going about it though is just completely off base.

Would you say he's going at it like someone who wasn't quite mentally stable? I would. Royce isn't helping people who suffer with mental illness escape the stereotype. He's reinforcing it.

Royce keeps saying "you give a guy with a broken leg a crutch". That's true, but you give him the crutch because you don't want him to put any pressure on it while it's healing. So by the same token, maybe a guy with an anxiety disorder should let a doctor or his agent do the talking instead of doing his own late night PR on twitter. It might promote faster healing.

[Czvosec]

Would you say he's going at it like someone who wasn't quite mentally stable? I would. Royce isn't helping people who suffer with mental illness escape the stereotype. He's reinforcing it.

Royce keeps saying "you give a guy with a broken leg a crutch". That's true, but you give him the crutch because you don't want him to put any pressure on it while it's healing. So by the same token, maybe a guy with an anxiety disorder should let a doctor or his agent do the talking instead of doing his own late night PR on twitter. It might promote faster healing.

And I completely agree with you.

[Jon]

Royce keeps saying "you give a guy with a broken leg a crutch". That's true, but you give him the crutch because you don't want him to put any pressure on it while it's healing. So by the same token, maybe a guy with an anxiety disorder should let a doctor or his agent do the talking instead of doing his own late night PR on twitter. It might promote faster healing.

When it comes to his relationship with the Rockets, you're absolutely right.

But for everything else, if he's going to represent folks with anxiety issues, he can't ask his agent or a PR person to do that.