In the fall, former NBA first-round pick Royce White will attempt a feat several other professional athletes have tried before him, and jump into the political realm as a candidate for Minnesota’s fifth congressional district seat.
On Tuesday, the Minnesota native and Iowa State basketball alum posted a video to his Twitter page and informed his followers about why he is the right man to run for office and unseat incumbent Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D).
Former Iowa State basketball star Royce White running for Congress
“Ten years ago I took on the NBA and the establishment. I said that mental health was one of the greatest issues we face. And I was willing to give up my dream to fight for people I had never met,” White said in the video. “I took the lead when others wouldn’t. My name is Royce White. I’m a fifth-generation Minnesotan and a product of the Twin Cities. But, first and foremost, I’m an American. I’m running for Congress because our leaders have sold us out.”
White rose to notoriety in the first half of the last decade as a top prospect heading into the 2012 NBA draft. He would eventually be selected 16th overall by the Houston Rockets despite being open about his battle with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, which was triggered by flying. He would never play for the franchise and would eventually be moved to the Sacramento Kings in the 2013-2014 season.
However, the combination of an NBA schedule and a fear of flying led him to only play three games for the team and end his NBA career. Years later, he took his athletic talents to mixed martial arts, and the 6-foot-3 former power forward would make his debut in a losing effort to Daiqwon Buckley this past December.
White has his sights aimed on winning Ilham Omar’s 5th congressional disctrict seat
Now, it seems that he sees politics as his next great challenge. And that mountain to climb includes bringing down Democrat and “globalist puppet” Ilhan Omar.
“My problem with Ilan isn’t that she’s not an American, or that she’s not from Minnesota. She’s in on it, she’s a globalist. She’s a puppet for the establishment,” White says.
In the video, White received endorsements from notable Republican right-wing personalities in Breitbart founder Steve Bannon and former ESPN NBA analyst Jason Whitlock.