Royce White: Rockets feared mental health policy would set NBA precedent

Few players have become as emblematic of an NBA paradigm shift as Royce White, in spite of the fact he's played fewer than 10 total minutes in the league to date.

White's battles with generalized anxiety disorder were well-chronicled prior to his selection by the Houston Rockets with the No. 16 pick in 2012, but with an increased focus on mental wellness dominating headlines, White's case has come under renewed examination.

A recent interview between White and Yahoo Sports' Dan Devine doesn't paint an overwhelmingly positive picture of the team who drafted him nearly six years ago.

While White and his team of mental health professionals - both independent and team-sanctioned - were ready to draft a comprehensive plan for his health needs, the Rockets were more concerned with not setting a league-wide precedent on mental wellness policy, said White.

"The response that I got (from the Rockets) was that a policy for myself was impossible. To put something in writing with my anxiety disorder was impossible. It was said that it would take a long time to get (all 30 NBA) owners to agree to such a move, because in order for the Rockets to do it, the entire league would have to do it or agree, because it would have implications and (set) precedent for the whole league," White explained.

White believes he was punished by the Rockets for busing to a preseason game, a compromise meant to alleviate his anxiety-triggering fear of heights, despite the team and NBA indicating he would be allowed to do so. After arriving at the stadium, White was deactivated and did not play despite being uninjured and otherwise undisciplined for any additional infraction.

For his part, White remains a strong advocate for mental health. To him, the league is still more interested in the feel-good public response to testimonials from All-Stars like DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Love than changing mental health policies behind closed doors.

"My suggestion would be, we call an emergency meeting with the owners, like we would do if it was a conversation about national anthems," said White. "Let’s call an urgent meeting with the owners and get on the same page and (develop) a baseline understanding of what mental health actually is, before we start having a sensationalized conversation about this buzz topic, this headline of mental health. Let’s actually get on the same page about what it really is, from the medical standpoint, so nobody’s disoriented.

"Now, how many owners do you think would show up to that meeting?"

White may yet come to see the radical overhaul he desires; three days after his interview with Yahoo Sports, NBA.com's David Aldridge reported the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association were close to naming a "director of mental health and wellness" to oversee the jointly funded - but independent - branch of the new wellness program.

Whether or not the league's top stakeholders are ready to congregate, it appears the table is being set.