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Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Afronerd Brain Blast! Scholar-Athlete Forsakes NFL for Rhodes Scholarship!



Courtesy of the New York Times:

Rolle Is Heading to Oxford, Not the N.F.L.
By Pete Thamel

Myron Rolle with Sally Karioth, who helped him prepare for the Rhodes scholarship process. (Phil Sears for The New York Times)
The former Florida State safety Myron Rolle said in a text message Monday that he would be heading to Oxford, England, for his Rhodes scholarship instead of entering the 2009 N.F.L. draft. Rolle started for most of three seasons at Florida State and was considered a strong pro prospect.

Instead he will head to England for a one-year master’s degree in medical anthropology. He said he would enter the 2010 draft. In November, Rolle became the most prominent student-athlete since Bill Bradley in 1965 to win the Rhodes, which is considered the world’s most prestigious postgraduate academic award.

“I’m very excited to go,” Rolle wrote in a text message.

Rolle received plenty of attention from the news media when he risked missing all or part of the Seminoles’ game at Maryland on Nov. 22 to have his final interview for the scholarship in Birmingham, Ala. Rolle completed the interview, then found out he had received the scholarship. He received a police escort to a local airport and a private plane took him to the game, which he entered late in the second quarter. The Seminoles won, 37-3.

Rolle, who hails from Galloway, N.J., arrived at Florida State as the country’s No. 1 prospect and graduated with a pre-med degree in two and a half years. When his N.F.L. career ends Rolle plans on attending medical school with the hopes of opening up a clinic for the needy in the Bahamas.

Rolle said he was told he was projected to go in the top 49 picks in the draft, with the potential to go higher if he ran a strong 40 time in the pre-draft combine.

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