EXCLUSIVE: Royce White Says NBA Leaders ‘Detached From Reality’ on Minneapolis-ICE, Truth, Politics

Royce White made it to the NBA by defying expectations. He exited it the same way.

During an exclusive OutKick interview, the former first-round pick took direct aim at the NBA’s political instincts and the figures most often elevated as the league’s moral authorities, including coaches Steve Kerr and Doc Rivers.

READ: Steve Kerr Apologizes For Spreading 'Misinformation' Related To ICE

When the national discussion turned to Minnesota and the NBA’s response to ICE-related unrest, White offered no qualifiers.

He described the commentary coming out of the league as "completely detached from reality."

White argues that sports can only function as a "great unifier" when grounded in objective facts.

He believes the NBA has moved away from that standard.

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"We’ve just divorced ourselves from a universal truth," White told OutKick. "We now believe in relative truth."

White identifies this shift as a primary driver of American decline. He contends that society now operates on the idea that "everybody gets to decide what's true for themselves regardless of anybody else in the world."

According to White, the erosion of shared reality does more than divide political opinion. He points to it as one of the "most blatant causes of the mental health crisis in our country."

By elevating subjective narratives over objective facts, he argues the NBA is contributing to cultural division rather than cohesion.

The mainstream narrative casts these coaches and executives as courageous leaders. White sees something different.

"I take everything a lot of these professional athletes and coaches or team owners say with a grain of salt," White said.

He believes these figures are "pressured by the institution to lean in one direction of the political climate." 

In his view, the messaging coming from NBA podiums is not the product of independent thought. It is the product of pressure.

Iowa State forward Royce White pauses during a workout as a potential draft pick, with the Minnesota Timberwolves NBA basketball team Tuesday, June 12, 2012, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Star Tribune, Carlos Gonzalez) ST. PAUL OUT MINNEAPOLIS-AREA TV OUT MAGS OUT (Photo by Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JULY 24: Royce White #30 of Power looks on against Ball Hogs during week three of the BIG3 at the Orleans Arena on July 24, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

"I don't think they have the courage nor… do they feel the freedom to be honest and say what they really think a lot of the time," White added.

Those views are shaped by experience.

White was once a first-round NBA draft pick before being effectively exiled from the league after being "blackballed" for his outspoken nature and refusal to compromise on his principles.

Since then, he has reinvented himself as a political figure, taking his fight from the hardwood to the ballot box.

White has long argued that the NBA values institutional alignment over moral clarity, a belief reinforced by how the league responds to moments of unrest.

Minnesota has been a flashpoint for social, political and civil unrest in recent years, drawing repeated commentary from NBA leadership.

Coaches like Kerr and Rivers have emerged as prominent voices during those moments, often receiving widespread media praise.

That praise has not gone unchallenged.

READ: Doc Rivers Defiantly Doubles Down On ICE Comments, Claims NBA Great Could Have Been Rounded Up

Since OutKick’s interview with White, Kerr has apologized for spreading misinformation about ICE's operations in Minnesota, once we as an outlet pressed him on the matter. 

Rivers, conversely, has doubled down on his rhetoric.

White was early in questioning both the figures and the system that elevates them. His defiance did not end when the NBA doors closed.

While playing in the Big3, White scrawled messages like "DEEP STATE," "GAIN OF FUNCTION," and "FREE THE UYGHURS" across his head during games. It was a deliberate rejection of league-approved messaging, underscoring that his critiques were lived out publicly, not crafted for social media.

FRISCO, TEXAS - JULY 08: A detailed view of the writing on the head of Royce White #30 of the Power during the game against 3's Company in BIG3 Week Four at Comerica Center on July 08, 2022 in Frisco, Texas. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images for BIG3)

Royce White remains firm in his convictions. He has become an unapologetically pro-Trump voice and a vocal critic of the Chinese Communist Party’s enslavement of Uyghur Muslims.

He insists the NBA has abandoned objective truth in favor of political conformity and institutional self-preservation.

While the league continues to promote its version of social justice, White stands outside the arena warning that the cost of "relative truth" is higher than many are willing to admit.

CHECK OUT THE FULL INTERVIEW: 

• White links Minnesota unrest to a nationwide mental health crisis
• NBA’s embrace of "relative truth" undermines sports as unifier
• White calls Kerr, Rivers "detached from reality"
• NBA players, coaches self-censor under institutional pressure
• League aligns on BLM, COVID, gender, immigration
• Illegal immigration benefits corporations, hurts working-class wages

Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela