Sports

Royce White: NBA Does Not Want Him Around

By ABS Contributor | Published on March 19, 2013

Houston Rocket and mental health advocate Royce White, who suffers from an anxiety disorder and fear of flying, said if the NBA had its druthers, it would make him go away.

The Rockets took with their first-round draft pick in 2012. Because of his disorders, he took an absence from the team in November and has yet to play a game. He has expressed repeatedly his disapproval of how the Rockets addressed his condition.On HuggPost radio Monday, White said: “If I was to make an educated guess, I would guess that Adam Silver and David Stern and the Rockets organization, some other owners in the league, GMs, want me gone.”White said in November that he would quit before playing for a team that does not address his concerns: “The failure to meet my requests for support will end with me being unhealthy and that is not a consequence that I am willing to accept to play any sport.”Four months later, Whites stance on the league has not changed much. He said Monday: “And why do they want me gone? Because business is about convenience, not about doing what’s necessary. It’s about cutting overhead. . . And a lot of times, what’s best for us as human beings doesn’t meet that criteria for business people.’

After nearly three months off the court, White played his first professional game in February — not for the Rockets, but for the Rockets’ affiliate team in the NBA developmental league, basketball’s equivalent of Major League Baseball’s minor leagues. HuffPost Live Host Marc Lamont Hill asked White if he felt that his assignment to the D-league was a punishment for his mental health advocacy.

White said he had no comment on the Rockets motives for sending him to the D-league.

White joined a conversation that included former NFL player Keith McCants, founder of the Siwe Project Bassey Ikpi, and mental health advocate Mychal Denzel Smith.

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