Ahead of the release of his new book “The 2% Way,” neurosurgeon, Rhodes Scholar and former NFL safety Myron Rolle dropped by “The Pivot Podcast” to discuss the book as he shared stories from a career excelling on the field, in the classroom and eventually in a field even more exclusive than the NFL.
The dumb jock stereotype has been antiquated for quite some time, particularly when it comes to Black athletes. However, it is a stereotype that some of us have even aspired to, in our youth. And there are still many horror stories of players who attend universities with NFL dreams and no intention of actually feeding their brains. With the new NIL opportunities, we will see this dynamic more frequently.
As well as coaches at universities who discourage their top athletes from taking on real deal, time-consuming academic burdens.
Former NFL player Myron Rolle has been busting up stereotypes for a long time now.
Despite being the No. 1 ranked high school football player in the country, Rolle, of Bahamian descent, equally recognized the medical profession as a viable life option. He competed and thrived at the highest levels in college.
Asked by the shows’ co-hosts and former NFL stars Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder and Fred Taylor to describe what “The 2% Way” refers to, Rolle explains how the mentality came from a coach he had during his time at Florida State University, where he was an All-American at safety.
“It was a philosophy that my coach at Florida State, Mickey Andrews, put on all of us,” explained Rolle. “He wanted us to get two percent better at everything and grab small levels of incremental growth every day. It’s about getting better as an athlete, being a better leader on the field, and I sort of extrapolated that to life. With anything I do, I’m trying to grab two percent from that to add it to my journey and change my trajectory. … No matter who you are or where you come from, you can implement small steps to reach your larger goals.”
After three standout seasons at Florida State, Rolle had the opportunity to become a Rhodes Scholar and attend Oxford University to continue his studies. After Oxford, Rolle returned stateside to pursue his NFL career, but was met with skepticism from the league about his dedication to football. For Rolle, this outlined a clear contradiction facing student-athletes.
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