Houston Rockets rookie Royce White hasn’t made it to the Rockets training camp yet. White suffers from an anxiety disorder that has prevented him for participating so far. This news isn’t a surprise to the Rockets, White was very open about his issues during the draft process, he’s working on them but that doesn’t mean the solution will be quick. His struggles involving anything from the basic day to day pressures to flying.
For their part, the Rockets plan to stick by White for the long term.
Ron Artest aka Metta World Peace was one of the most recently NBA players to bring his struggles with mental illness to the forefront. In the NFL, Bears Brandon Marshall has also been very open about his struggles with borderline personality disorder. There is still a lot of stigma attached to mental illness but with more athletes in the limelight being brave enough to open up about them, it can help others to seek the help that they need.
Kudos to the Rockets for supporting Royce.