Houston, TX – Royce White released a statement on Sunday saying he will not play until he is medically cleared by mental health professionals.
The rookie's lengthy statement came one day after the Houston Rockets assigned him to Rio Grande Valley of the NBA D-League.
White, the 16th overall pick by the Rockets last June, has sat out the entire season in part because of a complex social anxiety disorder.
In his lone season at Iowa State in 2011-12, White was the only player in the country to lead his team in scoring (13.4 ppg), rebounding (9.3 rpg), assists (5.0 apg), steals (1.2 spg) and blocks (0.9 bpg).
The Rockets have yet to see those all-around talents in the regular season, though general manager Daryl Morey recently said the club is "committed to Royce's long term success and we will continue to support him now and going forward."
White claimed those words to be "fundamentally incorrect," in his statement and feels it is "unsafe for unqualified Rockets front office personnel to make medical decisions, as they are not mental health professionals."
"I do wish to play, but I only intend to do so with the collaboration and recommendation of trained professionals," the statement read. "My only hope is that decision makers involved realize that doctors are the only logical source to decide action."
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