Royce White suspended 11 games (5th suspension this year); Canadian team cuts him

BleedGopher

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
60,567
Reaction score
15,642
Points
113
per Global News out of Canada:

The National Basketball League of Canada has handed down London Lightning star Royce White an 11-game suspension due to “conduct detrimental to the league.”


The suspension came down Friday, after White confronted League deputy commissioner Audley Stephenson in St. John’s during game five of the best-of-seven Central Division final Thursday, pitting the Lightning against St. John’s Edge.

“The actions of Mr. White are not representative of NBL Canada are considered to be conduct detrimental to the league,” said deputy commissioner Audley Stephenson.

White fouled out with a little more than four minutes left in the game, and proceeded to confront Stephenson, even shaking his finger at him. According to Lightning coach Keith Vasell, White was upset at the non-calls by the officiating crew.

It was not the first time White has confronted Stephenson. In a game at Budweiser Gardens last month, White walked across the floor and had words with Stephenson.

The suspension will be the fifth this year for White. He’s also been fined at least once.

<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

https://globalnews.ca/news/4174723/...d-after-altercation-with-deputy-commissioner/

London Free Press: Lightning leave White's turbulence behind

The London Lightning are moving on.

They are moving on not only to the National Basketball League of Canada championship, but moving on from their star player.

They are saying goodbye to Royce White, a man who has turned into perhaps the most polarizing athlete the city has ever seen; a man who was instrumental in winning them a third National Basketball League of Canada championship last year; and a man who has put the Lightning and NBL in the national spotlight both in a positive and negative fashion.

Wherever White has been he leaves behind a maelstrom of opinion, a ragged emotional edge that leaves those who have been in contact with them feeling like they survived an event of some sort, whether fulfilling or traumatic.

White is without question one of the most interesting athletes to come through London. He arrived here carrying the reputation of a No. 1 NBA draft pick that took on a system that wouldn’t acknowledge mental health issues, and he leaves here solidifying his reputation as an enormously talented basketball player with a personality that refused to avoid confrontation; that was incapable of acknowledging the possibility that he might be wrong; and that kept controversies alive because of his belief in his arguments. The result — especially this year — were volcanic moments that publicly embarrassed the league and the Lightning.

There is much debate about whether the 10-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the league was an overreaction to the league, especially since it was spawned because White confronted NBL deputy commissioner Audley Stephenson publicly during Game 5 of the St. John’s Edge series. The official announcement indicated the suspension was about that confrontation, captured prominently on social media.

The reality is something different. White wore out his welcome. The accumulation of his on-court behaviour, criticism of the league and the officials led to the heavy suspension. No matter what the league says, it was not about one incident. What’s more telling is the Lightning’s refusal to appeal the decision. The league approved the suspension, and appealing might not have changed anything, but the appearance is that even the Lightning just wanted to put the incident behind them.

Either it was too difficult for the Lightning to reel him in, or until things got truly out of control, they didn’t think to do it.

http://lfpress.com/sports/basketball/london-lightning/lightning-leave-whites-turbulence-behind

Go Gophers!!
 

Either it was too difficult for the Lightning to reel him in, or until things got truly out of control, they didn’t think to do it.

http://lfpress.com/sports/basketball/london-lightning/lightning-leave-whites-turbulence-behind

Go Gophers!!

Yes, multiple coaching staffs have tried and failed. Fred Hoiberg managed it at Iowa State but White played only one, albeit successful, year there. Three NBA teams gave up on him after very short stints. Apparently he was able to keep it together for a time in Canada but eventually self-destructed. Shame. He could have been a contender.
 


Question to ponder: considering the trail of disruption that White has left in his wake - are the Gophers better off that White never played for them? Hmmmm.
 



Saw his tweet this morning... he tweeted/replied to, KD's tweet from 2013. Hopefully we'll get to face off next season? The Arrival has begun? Wow, delusional.

He was also shooting 21% from deep this season... On Fire.

<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 

Kid has all the talent in the world but no guidance/structure. He obviously needs real help but doesn't appear to be receiving it. Aaannnnd he may just be a screw up on top of that.
 

Saw his tweet this morning... he tweeted/replied to, KD's tweet from 2013. Hopefully we'll get to face off next season? The Arrival has begun? Wow, delusional.

He was also shooting 21% from deep this season... On Fire.

<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I didn't realize he was replying to a five year old tweet when I saw Royce's tweet this week. That is strange and uncomfortable.
 

Question to ponder: considering the trail of disruption that White has left in his wake - are the Gophers better off that White never played for them? Hmmmm.

I definitely would have taken a year or two of 13 PPG, 9 RPG and 5 APG for the gophers. He was the only player in the country to lead his team in points, rebounds , assists, steals and blocks. It would have been worth it.

Imagine a team with Royce, Trevor, Devoe Joseph, Justin Cobbs and Colton Iverson. Those guys all went on to do great things after they transferred. Then you'd still have Rodney and Sampson as well.
 



Kid has all the talent in the world but no guidance/structure. He obviously needs real help but doesn't appear to be receiving it. Aaannnnd he may just be a screw up on top of that.

He's had plenty of guidance and structure. He's been offered, and given, plenty of help. I'm not saying there isn't something wrong with him, but he has had multiple people throughout his life try to help him succeed.
 

He's had plenty of guidance and structure. He's been offered, and given, plenty of help. I'm not saying there isn't something wrong with him, but he has had multiple people throughout his life try to help him succeed.

Yep, hard to say where the line is between being a disorder or illness and being an entitled jerk who thinks he can get through life playing by his rules or code. Probably a combination of the two extremes, but people have offered him all sorts of help through the years.
 

Yep, hard to say where the line is between being a disorder or illness and being an entitled jerk who thinks he can get through life playing by his rules or code. Probably a combination of the two extremes, but people have offered him all sorts of help through the years.

He hired (and didn't pay) a marketing firm over 70k, they were hired to build him as a influential style and music figure...

Sorry, I believe he used mental health as a way for him to be famous... trying to be this big spokesmen/advocate.
 

He's had plenty of guidance and structure. He's been offered, and given, plenty of help. I'm not saying there isn't something wrong with him, but he has had multiple people throughout his life try to help him succeed.

There is only so much help that can be offered. When a person gets down to their fifth, sixth, seventh, etc.. chance, it gets to a point where it may not be worth it anymore. Just being purely hypothetical....


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 



There is only so much help that can be offered. When a person gets down to their fifth, sixth, seventh, etc.. chance, it gets to a point where it may not be worth it anymore. Just being purely hypothetical....


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I agree. What I don't know is what disorder Royce has and to what extreme of suffering he has had because of it/them. What I do know is that he has had numerous people go to great lengths to help him. He just may be a victim of mental illness, but he is not a victim of lack of caring/effort by others.
 

I agree. What I don't know is what disorder Royce has and to what extreme of suffering he has had because of it/them. What I do know is that he has had numerous people go to great lengths to help him. He just may be a victim of mental illness, but he is not a victim of lack of caring/effort by others.

I don't know the details, but I hear pretty consistently he has OCD and anxiety. I deal with people every day with mental health and emotional challenges including OCD and anxiety. Almost none of them have the kinds of behavior issues Royce has had over the years. The hardest problem for anyone dealing with a person with a mental illness problem is discerning the line between the illness and chosen bad behavior. It's not easy. From public accounts of his behavior, it suggests that he has something more serious than OCD or anxiety.
 

This news came as quite a shock. It's hard to believe what I am seeing in this video. Canada has a basketball league?
 

This news came as quite a shock. It's hard to believe what I am seeing in this video. Canada has a basketball league?
LOL. I wonder how they would handle Big Ballers?

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 

I don't know the details, but I hear pretty consistently he has OCD and anxiety. I deal with people every day with mental health and emotional challenges including OCD and anxiety. Almost none of them have the kinds of behavior issues Royce has had over the years. The hardest problem for anyone dealing with a person with a mental illness problem is discerning the line between the illness and chosen bad behavior. It's not easy. From public accounts of his behavior, it suggests that he has something more serious than OCD or anxiety.
My amateur diagnosis is that it is more along the lines of PTSD where things have to go his way or he lashes out. It's like the unfettered adulation he gets from playing basketball is a minimum reaction he expects from others.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 

Sad. So much talent. How did Houberg keep him centered the one great year he had at Iowa St.?
 

This guy gives everyone with mental illness a bad rap. This guy is so egotistical and manipulative it's nauseating.
 

This guy gives everyone with mental illness a bad rap. This guy is so egotistical and manipulative it's nauseating.

Bingo. He has blamed everything on the mental illness. Being lazy and entitled is not a symptom of depression and it is insulting to people with serious disorders to blame your character faults on that.
 

Sad. So much talent. How did Houberg keep him centered the one great year he had at Iowa St.?

White probably knew he would be out of chances if he screwed up at Iowa State. Too bad he just didn't take that as a hint and maintain some sanity in his life.
 

What a crying shame. So much talent, but wiring is short-circuited.
 

White probably knew he would be out of chances if he screwed up at Iowa State. Too bad he just didn't take that as a hint and maintain some sanity in his life.

I would bet if you talk to people around at the time he probably had many similar instances but they were overlooked or taking care of internally
 

Royce is the wrong combination of mental illness, poor decision-making, and just plain being a sociopath.
 



Royce is the wrong combination of mental illness, poor decision-making, and just plain being a sociopath.

This. My only interaction with Royce was his year (rather couple months) with the Gophers. I recall him being the most outgoing on the team, would spark up a conversation with anyone and never came across as having an ego or being too cool when he was around you. I remember a completely normal conversation with him earlier in the day of what ended up being his MOA incident, couldn't have seemed like a more down to earth guy. And then those "truth about tubby" videos when his status with the team was in limbo...so odd to see such a drastic swing.

I'd like to think that if he got back to that guy I remember briefly knowing he could be a VERY successful person, even outside of basketball. Just needs to accept his faults, and any guidance that he can find from here on out.
 

STrib: Minnesota's Royce White blasts NBA in new HBO interview

Minnesotan Royce White, who dazzled at DeLaSalle and Hopkins high schools as a teenager, continues to press the NBA in a new interview with HBO's "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel."

White, who was temporarily a member of the Minnesota Gophers before transferring to Iowa State University, was first featured on the Emmy-winning series in 2013, shortly after he had butted heads with the Houston Rockets, which had selected him as the No. 12 pick in the 2012 draft.

White was insisting that the team, and the NBA, address his mental-health issues. Since that broadcast, White bounced around the NBA and was eventually signed by the London Lightning in Canada, where he was the league's MVP last year.

Bernie Goldberg, who filed the original report, follows up with roughly five minutes of fresh material in which White addresses how the NBA took mental-health issues more seriously when they were brought up by Kevin Love and DeMar DeRozan.


http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-s-royce-white-blasts-nba-in-new-hbo-interview/483343731/

Go Gophers!!
 





Top Bottom