Royce White, the conservative firebrand and former Iowa State basketball star, is being urged to abandon his US Senate run in Minnesota after a judge ruled he abused his wife and teenage son.
White has denied the allegations and is appealing the order, which forbids him from contacting his ex-wife for 50 years and his teenage son for two.
‘Mr. White should immediately suspend his campaign, address the personal and legal matters before him, and stop putting Republican voters and activists in the position of defending the indefensible,’ Minnesota GOP Chair Alex Plechash said in a recent statement.
White is currently in a GOP primary against former sideline reporter Michele Tafoya and ex-Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze.
That campaign is now in jeopardy after Hennepin County Judge Kristen Marttila issued an order in February, writing that White’s ex-wife is ‘utterly at a loss for how else to gain peace from him.’
This is the third time White’s ex-wife obtained an order against him and the first time his son has, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The couple also shares a daughter, whom White is allowed to continue seeing.
Royce White poses with some Trump supporters during his first US Senate run in 2024Â
White was a standout at Iowa state before his fear of flying derailed his NBA careerÂ
In her request for an order against White, his ex-wife wrote in December that he regularly abused her and their son.
‘[The abuse] has been escalating towards me and our children, making me scared for all of our safety,’ she wrote.
She said White threatened her in public and grabbed her, slapped her, pulled her hair and left her with bruises.Â
Marttila said she found the testimony ‘entirely credible,’ including one allegation in which White was said to have grabbed his son’s neck before throwing him into a ball rack during a basketball practice.
White has also faced accusations of misogyny, homophobia and anti-Semitism during his brief political career.
White’s failed US Senate bid in 2024 did not prevent him from running again this yearÂ
The state’s ‘Mr. Basketball’ as a high school senior in 2009, White accepted a scholarship to Minnesota but quickly dropped out after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct and theft for taking $100 worth of clothes and allegedly pushing a mall security officer to the ground.
He then transferred to Iowa State, where he became one of the most dynamic players in the country.Â
White was so skilled as a ball handler and passer that he was taken by the Houston Rockets with the 16th pick of the 2012 NBA Draft.
Unfortunately for White, who has been open about battling mental health issues, things did not work out in the NBA. Due to his intense fear of flying, the Rockets agreed to allow White to travel by bus. Still, he missed several practices and refused an assignment to the club’s G-League affiliate.
Commentator Michele Tafoya looks on during Super Bowl LVI between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium on February 13, 2022 in Inglewood
Long-time NBA executive Daryl Morey, the man who drafted White with the Rockets, has described him as ‘the worst first-round pick ever,’ and that may not be an exaggeration. White would move on to the Philadelphia 76ers and Sacramento Kings, but managed to appear in only three NBA games while failing to score a single point.
Since then he’s played professionally in Canada and Ice Cube’s Big3 league, where he recently appeared with Trump’s name written on the side of his head. He’s even flirted with an MMA career.
But White’s primary focus these days has become conservative politics and his mission of drawing more voters of color to the Republican party. The obstacle for White has been his past statements on any number of issues, including women.
‘Look, let’s just be frank,’ White once told podcaster and MAGA enthusiast Steve Bannon. ‘Women have become too mouthy. As the black man in the room, I’ll say that.’
