MINNEAPOLIS — A former professional basketball player running for the U.S. Senate, Royce White, accused his ex-wife of a vendetta in seeking a court order to keep him away from her and their teen-age son. White said there was no evidence of domestic abuse — no police record, no evidence, no documents. His points were made in an interview requested by Minnesota Public Radio. The vendetta, he said, has “nothing to do with a real fear for her safety.” He blamed dirty politics. White is in a three-way race for the Republican nomination to replace Tina Smith in the Minnesota congressional delegation. His rivals: former Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze and sportscaster Michele Tafoya. In the past Royce has cast himself as victim of a larger social context. In November he made the point this way online:
“Increasingly the courts are being used to bully men out of fathering their children. When I say ‘fathering,’ I don’t mean material things, but being allowed to instill basic boundaries. Too often the personal battle in relationships gets weaponized through the children.”
The no-contact order, issued in February, was sought by his ex-wife and also on behalf of their teen-age son.