re: Myron Rolle

In terms of the draft, absolutely.

In terms of life in general, I would disagree, but the media is overstating it. I have no doubt that he will become a successful doctor and open clinics in impoverished countries. He will also have a much easier time raising money because of his high-profile than other well-meaning doctors.

But I really don't see him becoming an agent of change for millions of people.

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In terms of life in general, I would disagree

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yeah i just mean NFL-wise

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but the media is overstating it.

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i believe this. he's not a super genius

however, he chose the rhodes scholarship over football and is almost assuredly in the top 95th of the NFL. prolly 99th on defense without question

there will be questions, right or wrong, about his commitment to the team and willingness to take orders

Let down? The guy went from no 1 player in country out of high school (by 1 recruiting service) to 3rd team all American as a true junior.

I'll take that any day.

And he has been out of football for 1 year.

Oh, he's definitely in the top 1%ile of the NFL, along with guys like Chad Pennington and Ben Watson, and he may even be in the top 1%ile in the country.

I agree that his priorities and commitment will be questioned when he is either taking coursework for med school or volunteering at a Caribbean hospital instead of participating in off-season workouts with the rest of his teammates.

He seems uppity!

National honors are based mostly on reputation, especially outside of the skill positions. Look at how many AP writers have cracked out top 25 lists. Those are the same kinds of guys creating national All-American lists.

This is why Ciron Black is a 2nd team All-American.

Rolle had a productive career at FSU, but I have heard from many people that his game did not translate all that well to college football for the reasons Enrique mentioned. I think he may have been a bit overrated based on the competition he dominated in high school.

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And you've worked with how many urban African American males?

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a bunch

ton of criminals

the only ones who get out are the ones who want to get out and choose the path

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I'm going to guess that that number is lower than the number that I have.

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that's possible, but you also have idealistic views of people, especially those in the lower class mindset (at least the black ones. i don't hear you often spouting the same for whites in similar situations in trailer parks in rural areas)

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No, the problem is that the above quoted sentence is completely unintelligible

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you're making a social goal to change a culture's direction by creating hype around a black guy who did well academically

the problem is thinking that we have to sell these ideals

you either want it or you don't

your culture either pushes it or it doesn't

rolle isn't even from the ghetto, and his parents are immigrants, not institutionalized americans

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ton of criminals

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so you deal with people after the problem. yeah, that's not a flawed sample...

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the only ones who get out are the ones who want to get out and choose the path

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Very true. Unfortunately, many kids see it as "the only way I can get out is through sports, selling dope, or if I'm really lucky, academics." They basically succumb to a false dichotomy, and that's where guys like Rolle can be positive role models, showing that just because you're good at sports doesn't mean that you can't be good in the classroom and vice versa.

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that's possible, but you also have idealistic views of people, especially those in the lower class mindset (at least the black ones. i don't hear you often spouting the same for whites in similar situations in trailer parks in rural areas)

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And at the heart of every cynic is an idealist, but that's beside the point. You don't hear me talking (often) about poor Whites in trailer parks and rural areas because the topic is seldom brought up. However, those kids face almost identical obstacles. When I used to post in that cesspool known as Political Talk, there were numerous times that I had said that poor Whites and poor Blacks are basically the same and that there is no need for conflict there. I have also often said that poverty is an issue that we need to fight against, and that what we currently call Affirmative Action should be directed more towards socio-economic status than towards race. But you choose to ignore these things because they don't fit your agenda.

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you're making a social goal to change a culture's direction by creating hype around a black guy who did well academically

the problem is thinking that we have to sell these ideals

you either want it or you don't

your culture either pushes it or it doesn't

rolle isn't even from the ghetto, and his parents are immigrants, not institutionalized americans

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Rolle is an example. There are plenty of others. However, our society doesn't promote these and other guys for various reasons. One reason, IMO, is that the people with the money and the power to get certain messages out there prefer the poor to remain poor and fighting amongst themselves for the scraps. Another reason is that they want for the consumer base to remain consumers rather than partners at the table with them. But again, these are other issues unrelated to sports.

The second video linked in this thread discusses the marketing of Rolle as a scholar-athlete instead of just as an athlete. That sort of marketing with him and other athletes has the potential to work wonders, if done the right way. That's all I'm saying.

His decision to go to FSU is a bit weird nonetheless. He's from New Jersey so it's not a local school, and their football team might have the most academic scandals in the past 5 years.

I bet if he was a top high school player these days, he would have considered Stanford and Duke, but they were obviously abysmal when he was a senior.

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Rolle graduated from FSU with a 3.75 which is certainly not standard numbers for a Rhodes Scholar

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You're right, except for the fact that he graduated in 5 semesters.

As far as him not being very good on the football field,

2010 NFL Draft Prospect Scouting Report:
person
Myron Rolle, SS, Florida State
It only took three games for Myron Rolle to become the starting rover at Florida State. He has not given up that role since, until he opted to forgo his senior season at FSU and become a Rhode Scholar instead. As a freshman, Rolle was third on the team in tackles and named to a variety of Freshman All-American teams. As a sophomore Rolle was one of the few consistent players on the FSU defense and that continued into his junior campaign.

Rolle has a lot of positives about his game. He is as smart on the field as he is in the classroom, which is pretty smart. He has great instincts and always seems to be around the ball, but his best assets are a little easier to notice. Rolle, at 6-2 and 218 pounds has great size and strength. He defends the pass extremely well and has the quickness to cover the field sideline to sideline.

The NFL already knows what Rolle can do and now the question is whether or not he can do it after being away from the game for a year. Rolle has first round talent, but he will need to have a decent NFL combine and show everybody that there is no rust.