We've talked about Royce White here on PANIC! in the past. He's a young basketball player who's been attempting to make it in the NBA despite a fear of flying and other issues related to severe panic disorder. Last year, he was a bust with the Houston Rockets. This year, he was cut by the Philadelphia 76ers.
My take is that he's been kind of immature in the way he's gone about trying to carve out a professional hoops career -- at least with the Rockets, his approach seemed kind of antagonistic, replete with complaints in the press about the ways the team wasn't accommodating his needs, in a profession where, let's face it, criss-crossing the country is a fact of life and continuity of player availability is a key component of successful team chemistry -- but ultimately there are at least two sides to every story, and I have no idea what really went on behind closed doors.
At the same time, I admire his willingness to put the truth about his condition on the table, to make mental health and how employers deal with it part of the public discussion. I wish him well, and hope he finds his way to an NBA career, because he's a real talent, a big man with scoring ability and excellent court vision and passing skills. And he's courageous. Immature, maybe, but courageous. Let's not forget that.
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