Houston Rockets Suspend Royce White Indefinitely

Royce White, a Cyclone basketball player who was drafted to the NBA's Houston Rockets in June, has been suspended according to a report on the Des Moines Register.

The Houston Rockets suspended White on Sunday citing his failure to provide services as provided by the uniform player contract, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said in a statement.

“We will continue to work with Royce to hopefully come to a resolution,” Morey said according to the statement reported on the Houston Chronicle's Houston Rockets blog.

White reportedly refused his assignment to the NBA team's D league the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, but White has tweeted, that he has not refused that assignment.

“Not refusing #DLeague I’m refusing to work, AT ALL, until a protocol is put in that ensures #safety. Doctors should make medical decisions.”

White tweeted the above and a tirade of other tweets after the news about his suspension.

White and the team are at odds over the treatment of his anxiety disorder. The team wants White to use a doctor they have selected rather than his own and can supersede doctors orders.

White said recently that the team and the NBA lacks a protocol in dealing with players who have been diagnosed with mental health problems.

"There's no mental health protocol here, for not only the Rockets but the entire league, really. I expressed that that's really unsafe if you think about it," White said to SiriusXM's "Off the Dribble" show as reported by ESPN.

"So, basically, I'm fighting to have that rectified. I just don't think it is OK or responsible or even logical to have GMs or any front office personnel have executive authority in medical situations."

According to the Chronicle's blog citing unnamed sources, White wants to add an addendum to player contracts that would allow them to choose their own doctors.

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