Royce Refuses, Rockets Need to Repudiate

So, news broke today that Royce White has refused to accept his D-League assignment citing hardship and no progress on his mental health protocol issue. If you're interested in reading Royce White's statement about the issue you can find it here. If you're interested, there is one excerpt to pay particular attention to that has my mind completely blown (And it's not even the one where he invokes the Connecticut tragedy to leverage his position):

I do wish to play, but I only intend to do so with the collaboration and recommendation of trained professionals. The purpose of a doctor's confirmation is to ensure that health decisions are made in the sole interest of health and not conflicted with business.

Let's reflect on this rationale. Royce says he wants a doctor to clear him to play. Royce chides the Rockets for not having a protocol in place because the Rockets have set him up with a doctor they chose (Their right under the CBA). In this statement Royce has the stones to come out and tell the Rockets that because he does not get to choose the doctor he will invariably say that any medical opinion he gets is motivated by business and not mental health. He has drawn a bright line in the sand to say "I will not listen to you because it is not what I want to hear."

The picture gets murkier when you read on that he criticizes the Rockets ability and right to accept or reject a therapist's assessment. The intriguing thing here is the blatant hypocrisy from his earlier statement. He's selective about whether or not he wants to accept the Rockets doctor's opinion yet he does not accept the Rocket's ability to be selective about other doctors. He claims that the Rockets have been fundamentally unsupportive but the better question is what are they supposed to be supporting? He won't listen to their doctors, he won't accept an assignment to the D-League to limit travel, and he is openly refusing to cooperate with the organization. The Rockets need to cut bait because this media circus and his antics are not worth the trouble. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it take its head out of its ass.

Since Royce issued an open statement I would like to respond in kind (Worth noting, this letter is on me).

Royce,

You are a troubled man with a mental issue and that much is abundantly clear. Unfortunately what you are not, and what you are struggling to see, is a martyr. Mental health comes in a wide variety of ways and manifests itself different to each person. You cited issues with travel and this was remedied with your own bus. You were seeking some form of protocol and this was provided via therapists that you refused to meet with. You have openly decried the organization that invested a first round draft pick, petitions to the NBA Player's Association, and shown extreme amounts of patience with you as being unsupportive. At what moment does this become a two way street?

The most important thing to address, and it's yet another flash of immaturity on your part, is how DARE you compare your plight in any way, shape, or form to the tragedy that occurred to those children in Connecticut. It is shameless and opportunistic to equate your struggle to earn millions of dollars as a basketball player who has had massive amounts of support to a psychopath who unloaded bullets into the most defenseless of our society. Mental illness was a red herring with that deeply disturbed individual and it's a red herring here. It was despicable of you to attempt to capitalize on the events in question and you have shown to be a vile individual in doing so.

Sincerely,

Rockets fans who aren't buying what you're selling

(Writer's note: If you want to tweet mean stuff at me or if you're Royce and want to go off, my handle is @QuestionablyBD)