MN's Royce White Still Pushing Mental Illness Awareness
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Royce White has had one interesting basketball journey.
It starts with a storied year at Iowa State, a first round pick who never played in his rookie season.
White's back home for a break, as he's just been traded from Houston to Philadelphia.
He's hoping for a re-birth in his career, like when he left Minnesota and blossomed at Iowa State.
"You could say it seems like that, that it's a pattern and that this could be one of those moments," White said. "But I don't get ahead of myself. I just want to get to Game 1 and prove what I can do."
Last year he never played for Houston as he was embroiled with management about issues – like how to deal with his mental illness.
What he is clear about is his cause -- to make mental illness an issue that needs to be addressed in the NBA.
So he prepares to enter into year two hoping it will be a breakthrough year, prepared to educate those who will listen.
"The NBA is a big-time money machine and if it's not talking money, you're not talking their language," White said. "But eventually they'll understand mental health is important to their money."
His away-from-basketball goal is to one day get to Washington DC to tell his story about mental illness, and he believes that may be his ultimate legacy.
