Myron Rolle

Myron Rolle
refer to caption
Rolle in 2020
No. 25, 47
Position:Safety
Personal information
Born: (1986-10-30) October 30, 1986 (age 38)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:219 lb (99 kg)
Career information
High school:Hun (Princeton, New Jersey)
College:Oxford
Florida State
NFL draft:2010 / round: 6 / pick: 207
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Myron L. Rolle (born October 30, 1986) is a American neurosurgeon and former professional football safety. He played college football at Florida State, and was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL draft. He attended the Florida State University College of Medicine, completed his neurosurgery residency at Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital and now is the pediatric neurosurgery fellow at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St Petersburg, Florida.

He was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship and studied at St. Edmund Hall,[1] Oxford University for the 2009–10 academic year in order to earn an MSc in Medical Anthropology.[2] In 2010, he was chosen as the second-smartest athlete in sports by the Sporting News, behind baseball player Craig Breslow.[3] On February 17, 2021, Abiomed, a member of the S&P 500, announced Dr. Rolle as a member of its board of directors.

Early life

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Rolle was born in Houston. His family is from The Bahamas;[4] and after returning to Nassau for two years after his birth, his family then moved permanently to the United States. He was raised in Galloway Township, New Jersey, where in 2009, December 10 was decreed "Myron Rolle Day".[citation needed] Myron attended the Peddie School in Hightstown, New Jersey, where he played the saxophone in the school band, sang in a school play, and was the sports editor of the school newspaper as well as playing football, basketball and track. He transferred to the Hun School of Princeton and played high school football and basketball. He maintained a 4.0 GPA in high school. He was an All-American and made 112 tackles including 14 for loss. ESPN's recruiting services ranked Rolle as the number one high school prospect in the country.[5] Rivals.com rated him the 12th-best player and the top athlete overall, as well as the best player from New Jersey in the 2006 recruiting class.[6] In 2006, after a nationwide search Rolle won the prestigious annually awarded Franklin D. Watkins Memorial Trophy, the premier African-American scholar/athlete award in America for high school males.[7] He is an alumnus of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

College career

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Aspiring to both the National Football League and medical school, Rolle played as a safety at FSU, completed all necessary pre-medical requirements, and earned his bachelor's degree in Exercise Science in just 2.5 years with a 3.75 grade point average.[8][9] Rolle helped the Florida State Seminoles win on the field, and off the field, he won a Rhodes Scholarship. He postponed playing in the NFL for a year in order to study at Oxford University.[10][11][12]

In 2008, he earned Associated Press 3rd team All-American honors as well as Football Writers Association America 2nd team All-ACC and CoSIDA Academic All-America. In the 2008 season game versus the University of Miami Hurricanes, Seminoles defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews remarked that Rolle played the best and most complete game he has ever seen a safety play at Florida State University in his 25 years of coaching. Rolle had 4 tackles (2 touchdown saving tackles), 1 tackle for loss, 4 pass breakups, 1 sack, 2 quarterback hurries and 3 critical 3rd down stops.[citation needed]

Rolle was named a finalist for one of the 32 Rhodes Scholarships awarded to Americans each year.[13] His interview for the scholarship was originally scheduled at the same time as Florida State was to play at Maryland, in which Florida State defeated Maryland 37–3. The NCAA decided to allow Rolle to take a chartered plane from his interview in Birmingham, Alabama to College Park.[11] He was awarded the scholarship less than three hours before the Florida State vs. Maryland game. He became the fourth Florida State student and second school athlete to receive the honor, as well as the only FSU football player to do so.[14][15] Rolle announced on January 12, 2009, that he would first study at Oxford University for the 2009–10 academic year in order to earn an M.Sc. in medical anthropology and would then enter the 2010 NFL draft.[2] He was a member of St Edmund Hall, commonly known as "Teddy Hall," at Oxford, living in college accommodation at Norham Gardens.[16]

Professional career

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Rolle practicing with the Titans
Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press Wonderlic
6 ft 1+7⁄8 in
(1.88 m) 		215 lb
(98 kg) 		32+1⁄2 in
(0.83 m) 		9+1⁄8 in
(0.23 m)		 4.76 s 1.69 s 2.78 s 4.15 s 6.94 s 36 in
(0.91 m)		 10 ft 4 in
(3.15 m)		 21 reps 33
All values from NFL Combine[17][18][19]

Rolle was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the sixth round (207th overall) of the 2010 NFL draft.[20] He signed a four-year contract on June 14, 2010.[21] Over two seasons in 2010 and 2011, Rolle never appeared in a regular-season game for the Titans. He then spent a brief time with the Pittsburgh Steelers before the team released him in 2012.[22]

Medical career

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Rolle announced his intent to leave the NFL to attend medical school in 2013. He enrolled at Florida State University College of Medicine and graduated in May 2017.[23][24] Rolle matched to a neurosurgery residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.[25] Rolle is a Global Neurosurgery Fellow at Harvard Medical School. In July 2020, Rolle stated he felt that due to COVID-19 the NFL should delay or cancel the 2020 season.[26]

Personal life

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He is the son of Whitney and Beverly Rolle. Myron is the youngest of five: Marchant, Marvis, Mordecai and McKinley. Rolle is the cousin of former safety Antrel Rolle, linebacker Brian Rolle, and former cornerback Samari Rolle.[27][28]

In 2017, he married pediatric dentist, Dr. Latoya Legrand-Rolle.[29] The couple have two sets of twins and reside in Orlando, Florida.[30] Rolle is a Christian.[31]

He was honored with membership into Omicron Delta Kappa in 2008 at FSU.

Bibliography

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  • Rolle, Myron L. (2022). The 2% Way: How a Philosophy of Small Improvements Took Me to Oxford, the NFL, and Neurosurgery. ISBN 978-0310363651.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Thamel, Pete (October 24, 2009). "On the Way to the N.F.L. Draft, a Year of Fulfillment in England". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Rhodes Scholar Rolle aims to convince NFL football is focus". SportsIllustrated.CNN.com. Mobile, Alabama: Time Inc. AP. January 28, 2010. Archived from the original on January 31, 2010. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  3. ^ "SN names the 20 smartest athletes in sports". Sporting News. September 27, 2010. Archived from the original on May 23, 2013.
  4. ^ "Brother Named Rhodes Scholar". Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. Archived from the original on January 2, 2009. Retrieved January 14, 2009.
  5. ^ "ESPN's top-ranked recruit chooses FSU". ESPN.com. September 1, 2005. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  6. ^ "Myron Rolle". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  7. ^ "15th Watkins Award". National Alliance of African American Athletes web site. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
  8. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 9, 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ "SN names the 20 smartest athletes in sports - MLB - Sporting News". Archived from the original on May 23, 2013. Retrieved 2013-10-04. SN names the 20 smartest athletes in sports
  10. ^ Elish, Jill (November 24, 2008). "Rolle is Florida State's third Rhodes Scholar in four years". fsu.com. Florida State University. Archived from the original on December 4, 2008. Retrieved November 29, 2008.
  11. ^ a b Thamel, Pete (November 20, 2008), "For Florida State Player and Scholar, Game Day Is Different", The New York Times, p. B17
  12. ^ "Florida State safety a Rhodes candidates". iht.com. Tallahassee, Florida: International Herald Tribune. AP. November 20, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2008.
  13. ^ Mandel, Stewart (November 6, 2008). "FSU's Rolle choosing Rhodes interview over Maryland game". SportsIllustrated.CNN.com. Time Inc. p. 2. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012.
  14. ^ Dinich, Heather (November 23, 2008). "Florida State safety Rolle wins Rhodes Scholarship". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved November 23, 2008.
  15. ^ "FSU's Rolle awarded Rhodes Scholarship". pnj.com. Pensacola News Journal. November 22, 2008. Retrieved November 22, 2008.[dead link]
  16. ^ Thamel, Pete (October 24, 2009). "On the Way to the N.F.L. Draft, a Year of Fulfillment in England". The New York Times.
  17. ^ "Myron Rolle Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  18. ^ "Myron Rolle, Florida State, SS, 2010 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  19. ^ "Official Combine Results". MyronRolle.com. March 2, 2010. Archived from the original on March 9, 2010. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
  20. ^ "2010 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  21. ^ Wilson, Aaron (June 14, 2010). "Titans agree to four-year deal with Myron Rolle". NationalFootballPost.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2010. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
  22. ^ "Former NFL, FSU Safety Myron Rolle Graduates from Medical School". Bleacher Report.
  23. ^ Watts, David (April 26, 2013). "NFL Rhodes Scholar Retires to Attend Medical School and Nobody Knows Since He Wasn't Arrested". POPSspot. Archived from the original on July 20, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  24. ^ "Renaissance Man Myron Rolle, former NFL safety and Rhodes Scholar, gets degree in neurosurgery". Fox News. May 20, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  25. ^ "Ex-Florida State DB Myron Rolle to begin Harvard medical residency". ESPN.com. March 18, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  26. ^ Silverman, Hollie (July 29, 2020). "A doctor and former football player warns it's not safe for the NFL to start the season". CNN. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  27. ^ "Eagles rookie linebacker Brian Rolle joining (distant) family business". Press of Atlantic City.com. August 27, 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  28. ^ "He made his name in football. Now Myron Rolle's next play is becoming a brain surgeon". Miami Herald.com. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  29. ^ "True calling for former Florida State star Myron Rolle revealed itself to everyone in coronavirus pandemic". sports.yahoo.com. May 12, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  30. ^ Axson, Scooby. "'My name is Dr. Rolle': Former Florida State star turned neurosurgeon writes his own story". USA TODAY. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  31. ^ Ackerman, Jon (March 31, 2020). "Myron Rolle, former NFL safety, battling coronavirus as neurosurgery resident, Christ's servant". Sports Spectrum. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
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