Royce White: The Anti-Posterchild
I have dealt with anxiety my entire life. From the garden variety general awkwardness at a party to more extreme acts like refusing to look at grades from a semester until 2 months after they were released. I was officially diagnosed with an General Anxiety Disorder at the age 20 of and have been on a bevy of Anxiety medications since. Needless to say, I understand the severity of Anxiety.
As a life-long sports fan, Royce White was supposed to be a poster-child for people like me. Royce was supposed to prove that anxiety is a medical condition, just like a broken arm, and with proper treatment and counseling, people can still thrive and achieve greatness. Royce was supposed to be the face of Americans with anxiety.
Instead, Royce White has made people suffering with anxiety look like incompetent, crazy people who cannot be productive in society.
Recently, Royce announced that he has left the Rockets D-League team without the approval of the organization. This comes after his refusal to play for the Rockets all season, claiming in interviews that he only shoots once a week during his time away from the team and constant claims that fans need to relax because “it’s only just a game.”
The response from the media regarding Royce’s tumultuous non-season has been that someone with his mental problems just isn’t suited for the NBA lifestyle. The pressures are too high, the toll of body and mind too strenuous, and frankly, someone with anxiety just is not suited to play in the NBA. I claim Bullshit.
During his freshman year of college, White was charged with stealing a $100 worth of clothes and then assaulting a security guard while trying to flee. One month later, he was charged with stealing a laptop at a University of Minnesota dorm. White has blatantly disrespected the Rockets at every opportunity made absurd and unprecedented demands for personalized doctors and refused to compromise on any issues. Royce White has proven to be a deplorable character and a lazy individual who is content to hide behind the banner of anxiety to explain his away his (in)actions.
I do not doubt he has anxiety disorder. I also do not doubt that he’s a lazy asshole who makes millions of Americans living with anxiety look like cripples who are unfit for the workforce. He completed over 20 flights during his college career but refuses to take any in the NBA because his medication (Xanax) “makes him tired.” Millions of Americans, myself included, have taken Xanax and have gone to work the next day or worked while on Xanax. You know why, because that’s what we are paid to do and we do not hide behind our disorder. We confront it day after day and try as hard we can to lead a normal and productive life, despite our condition. Royce White’s never-ending spew of bullshit may have some fooled, but I for one hope he never plays a minute in the NBA and the Rockets are able to void as much of his contract as possible.
