Will Houston Rockets Save Royce White’s NBA Career?

Finally the end seems near to Royce White’s NBA holdout and the ongoing discussion of him being able to succeed in the league can start to fade. But has the 6-foot-8 superstar already tarnished his image enough after constant battles with people, including the Houston Rockets organization, on Twitter?

October 24, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; Houston Rockets power forward Royce White (30) against the New Orleans Hornets during the first half of a preseason game at the New Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

After months of battling with Houston not providing a safe working environment, White finally agrees to join the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the D-League on February 11th. The Rockets are hopeful that they can bring him in shortly and make an impact in a potential run to the playoffs. Right now the team sits in eighth place in the Western Conference.

In case you haven’t followed what’s been happening, Royce White has tried to be a spokesperson for mental illness. The majority of his action happening on his Twitter account. It’s clear that White has a mental disorder, but the problem is how he’s handling it. Bashing credible journalists like Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarwoski or his own team, multiple times, probably isn’t the way to do it.

According to Rockets’ GM, Daryl Morey’s, letter, White mislead them into believing that he would fly with the team. White called out the letter for lying on his Twitter account, which was sent to him about a week after he stopped coming to practice and games.

While made the trips during the preseason, White slowly stopped participating with the Rockets citing his mental disorder. According to his interview on HBO’s Real Sports, he believed that it should be an excused absence.

Whether or not he even realizes it, White comes off too much as using his mental disorder as a crutch. Creating hashtags of “#AnxietyTroopers” and “#BeWell” while retweeting lots of the hateful bashing by idiots isn’t doing anything to make him look good no matter what he believes.

Oct 17, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets forward Royce White (30) runs up court against the Memphis Grizzlies during the fourth quarter at the Toyota Center. The Rockets won 109-102. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports

White made full use of his second chance at Iowa State and after meeting him when he was hanging out at a local bar in Ames, it looked like he had fought off his demons that bothered him in Minnesota. But if he thinks that he’s become a role model for citizens suffering from a mental disorder, he’s done it completely wrong.

Airing grievances on Twitter, not showing any part of working with the Rockets organization, and bashing his team on not having a proper “health protocol” are all things that should have been kept personal with Houston.

White isn’t the first person, nor will he be the last, to deal with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder while fighting panic attacks and his fear of flying. Working this hard to get to the NBA and make millions of dollars shouldn’t be wasted when some people struggle just to get to their minimum-wage jobs fighting the same problems.

The best thing White can do is get off Twitter while working to get back on good terms with the Rockets and if there are any other missteps along the way, keep them internal with the team.

Whether or not you back White on standing up for his disorder, there’s no question that he poorly handled the situation. Now hopefully the Houston Rockets can get the rookie back on schedule with his NBA career.

Brian Spaen is the lead editor of Clones Confidential. Get more Cyclones coverage by following us on Twitter.