I wasn't going to say anything. I wanted to be nice. I wanted to be considerate of his condition. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. I wanted his story to have a happy ending. I wanted to like him. But I can't take it anymore. I'm unloading on this scumbag.

I am of course referring to the Houston Rockets forward, Royce White. I'm sure everyone is fully aware that Royce suffers from severe anxiety. I would never poke fun at that. I understand how debilitating it can be to live with something like that. I understand that severe anxiety can make if difficult just to get out of bed some mornings. I know people living with it; I've seen firsthand what it can do. That being said...Screw this guy. Screw him and his dog. Screw him and his neck beard. Screw him and his closet of fedoras.

Fedora, check. Deep V, check. Inflated sense of self worth, check. 
 
You all saw the mini documentary that followed him on draft day. He sat there and listened to his agent name off all teams that didn't want anything to do with him. Which was literally every team who had a pick. Every team except the Houston Rockets. Houston was taking a significant risk seeing as how White's fear of flying would require special arrangements be made on his behalf. Hiring a special physician to see to White's needs. Taking a team owned charter bus to and from certain cities. Perhaps not having him in the lineup for some games due to the distance from one city to the next. Perhaps not having him in the lineup simply because he wouldn't be able to overcome his condition that particular day. Why would a franchise that is largely in the business of making money off their players, go through the trouble? But Daryl Morey and the Rockets felt he could help their team. Royce White was taken 16th overall. Hugs were given. Tears were shed. And then shortly after, backs were stabbed.

 Here is a brief rundown of events that lead to me angrily typing this piece.

  • After a lack luster showing in the NBA summer league, Royce White and the Rockets work out arrangements for him to use a team owned charter bus to travel to and from games. He is also ordered to have regular visits with a team psychiatrist to ensure his mental stability. 
  • Royce White for some reason feels the Rockets have not done enough to accommodate his needs. 
  •  Rather than voicing his displeasure in a private meeting with team officials. He takes to twitter and starts spewing hundreds of ignorant quasi rants. Shining has a beacon of stupidity for all to read.
  •  The Rockets would very much like for him to attend practice, but instead he refuses, citing unsafe working conditions. All the while, failing to meet with the team appointed doctor. 
  •  The Rockets at this junction are forced to starting issuing fines to Mr. White. 
  • After a brief impasse, Royce agrees to join the Rocket's D-league affiliate, the Rio Grande Vipers. He went on to average a whopping 9.6 points and 5.6 rebounds in 12 games. (It should be noted that even a fringe NBA talent can average over 20 and 10 a game while playing in the developmental league.)
  • White feels that he has completed his tour of duty as a Viper, and supposedly met with his doctor to discuss the next steps. At which they supposedly came to an agreement that it would be "logical" for him to join his team in Houston to get ready for next season.
  • In the world outside of Royce's mind the Rockets never called him up from the D-league. He instead chose to leave on his own whim. The Rockets ordered him back to where ever the Rio Grande Vipers play. White claims it was nothing more than a miscommunication.
Royce White needs to either hire a PR manager or fire his PR manager. Half of his douchebaggery flows from his twitter feed. Going on 140 character rants about how the Rockets front office hasn't made things "safe" for you doesn't help his cause. One can argue that the Rockets have gone out of their way to accommodate him. Mr. White has exhibited a classic case of diarrhea of the mouth. Yeah he can spout off some random facts about mental health. And he can make sweeping judgments and accusations about NBA front offices. But if he had the wisdom of a jar of mayonnaise he'd realize that trying to paint himself as some type of martyr doesn’t really work if you’re collecting over 1.6 million dollars while sitting on your ass.

rockets draft
"You guys think we'll regret taking Royce?" "Nah, we're good."
  
I'd like to see his contract ripped to shreds and him left to fend for himself in the real world. But knowing Royce, he'll likely hire some snake of a lawyer and then try and sue the Rockets for discrimination. He's damaged his reputation so badly, that no team would ever want to draft a player with an anxiety disorder. If fact, he's probably done more harm than good for people living with mental health issues. I'm not sure of the exact course of action the Rockets can take, but it should be clear by now that they need to wash their hands of this guy.

Houston, its trash day. And you got a big ol' bag sitting in your garage that needs to be drug out to the curb. Its name is Royce White, and it’s starting to stink. #BeWell
9 Comments:
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Wow. This is old news. You've put alot of time into hating someone you don't even know. Try some love. It works.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Preach it brother!

Blogger Wormboy said...
Gonna agree with Anonymouses: not really behind this post. Is White kind of a nut? Sure. But about 1/10000th lower impact than Ron Artest has been. Not worth the effort.

Meanwhile, the best game of the regular season was played last night, with an ensuing whine-fest by Wade and LeBron. The game was anti-Bawful, and the whining was uber-Bawful.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
I agree with this article

Blogger Barry said...
Some bad PR work, that's for sure. It's hard for me to tell who's in the right here as an outsider, but there's definitely some communication issues between the Rockets and their employee.

I sympathize with him, but it's not hard to see the Rockets getting fed up real soon.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Well said.

Blogger Josh Slater said...
My first instinct here is to be a dick, but I am doing everything I can to avoid it. I say that so you understand that this is a reserved as I can be at the moment.

You are just as ignorant to the inner workings of the mental health team of the Houston Rockets as I am to the motivation behind this piece. I could assume that you're an apathetic, small-minded moron just like you have assumed that Royce White is the clear villain in all of this. Before you cast judgment, perhaps you would be better served by employing a little empathy. I make no assumptions about either party other than the Rockets are motivated by their own success the same that Royce White is motivated by his. They both want what is best for themselves. Mental health is unpredictable and unique to the patient. If you have as much experience with it as you say you do, you should be aware of that.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Dude just said he has no intersr in the playoff cause it would be a incovinent for him.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Great post Jason!

I have both generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder. It/they has had a very negative effect on my well-being and also my career.

So I am both sympathetic and empathetic to those with anxiety disorder. Nevertheless, don't have a very good impression of Mr. White. At the least, the tone of his tweets etc make him look:
1) irrational (beyond the irrationality of anxiety disorder)
2) unnecessarily whiney and acerbic, not really interested in working out a mutually acceptable solution.

I also think that he IS harming the image of people with anxiety disorders. If the guy had been able to somehow help the Rockets team or even could simply conduct himself in a dignified and somewhat likable manner while also speaking on behalf of people with anxiety disorders, then he WOULD be helping the image of people with anxiety disorders.

Early on I was rooting for the guy to make it and be able to play in the league. I still hope he does, simply for the sake of the public view of anxiety disorder, even though I can't stand Royce White.