On Friday in class, we watched a video about a basketball player named Royce White, who was going through drafting for the NBA after finishing his college season. However, this process was very difficult for him because he suffers from generalized anxiety disorder, which all the teams knew and they thought it wasn't worth it to draft him despite his talent. When the Houston Rockets gave him a chance, he immediately presented them with a long list of the requirements he needed them to accommodate for his disorder.
I think he is justified to have service for his disorder, but I think that the way he approached the situation could have been better. He didn't seem to try very much to compromise and did not acknowledge that the team was giving him a shot while the other teams did not, and so he shouldn't take advantage of that. While I do believe that he should be able to receive whatever treatment is required to help him do the best that he can, I don't think he needed to make that many demands of the team because they have a lot of other things they have to worry about too. He stated that he didn't have a problem in college at Iowa State because he trusted the coach and so he didn't miss any games. So if his issue was that he was worried he couldn't trust the coach of the Rockets, I think that he should have had a personal meeting with the coach to discuss the problem with him rather than just sending a document / contract with all the information all at once. I think it could have helped each of them reach a better sense of understanding of the other's point of view and therefore come to an agreement of what works for both of them, rather than just all or nothing.
Do you think his actions were justified? What alternatives could there have been?
I completely agree with all your stances on this issue. Although White should be getting specialized treatment for his mental disorder, he was not justified to present a list of demands to the coach, especially since he did not even try to compromise. The coach went out on a limb for White, so he should have been more appreciative of what he was given and tried to compromise with the coach.
ReplyDeleteI can see what you are saying, that he could have been more upfront and flexible. In these kind of relationships you both have to communicate your sides otherwise you just keep offending each other. I think that was not willing to trust them. He never even gave them a chance to prove him right or wrong. He just automatically assumed that he needed a legal document before at least trying to trust them.
ReplyDeleteI can see what you are saying, that he could have been more upfront and flexible. In these kind of relationships you both have to communicate your sides otherwise you just keep offending each other. I think that was not willing to trust them. He never even gave them a chance to prove him right or wrong. He just automatically assumed that he needed a legal document before at least trying to trust them.
ReplyDeleteI think that while Royce White was justified in asking for a team doctor and an alternate form of transport, however the way he approached these could have been much, much better. For example, according to espn (http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8459655/royce-white-absent-houston-rockets-cites-mental-health) Royce White asked the team to purchase a bus entirely for him, on top of missing the opening of the NBA camp. While it is fair for the team to accommodate his needs, as they did hire him, he has gone beyond fair accommodations. An alternative would have been to meet with the coach in person on the first day of the season to discuss what the team could do to help him with his disorder, rather than missing the first day and mailing in a list of requests.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI think that mental and physical health of any athlete is always important. However, I do think that when it comes to each individual's mental and physical illnesses and injures it is that particular persons' responsibility to try and get help themselves instead of not trying to improve the situation at all.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that Royce White should not have came to the Rockets with his lists of wants and needs when they already gave him a huge opportunity by drafting him. I also agree with your thoughts on the alternative approach that he should have done.
I think that knowing that he has anxiety is affecting him more than the actual mental disorder. I do agree that he didn't seem to try very much to compromise and did not acknowledge that the team was giving him a shot while the other ones were not. In my opinion, Royce is putting to many excuses on himself instead of focusing on overcoming his illness and fighting for his dream of playing professional Basketball.
ReplyDeleteI think that knowing that he has anxiety is affecting him more than the actual mental disorder. I do agree that he didn't seem to try very much to compromise and did not acknowledge that the team was giving him a shot while the other ones were not. In my opinion, Royce is putting to many excuses on himself instead of focusing on overcoming his illness and fighting for his dream of playing professional Basketball.
ReplyDelete