Myron Rolle to future NFL draft picks: You have a lot of power; use it
CBSSports.comMyron Rolle isn't like most former football players. He isn't like most people. It tends to be that way for the former Rhodes Scholar who played at Florida State and was drafted by theTennessee Titans, played in the NFL and gave it up to pursue medical school, which he will begin in a few months.
Rolle's life thus far has been, well, a stunning example of extreme success. At a time in the NFL when you read about so much that is wrong, Rolle is an example of how so much can go right. That if players have the proper mindset, they can use football to prepare for life after the sport, instead of the sport using them and spitting out their carcass.
Rolle wasn't a star in the NFL. He was drafted by the Titans in the sixth round and played for them and the Steelers. But he knew to use the sport's vast popularity and resources to help get what he wanted. This is a message often lost on draft picks and others in the sport. You can set your clock by the draft picks who get selected and fail to possess the maturity to handle the mental rigors of the sport. They fail to take advantage of the vast resources that the union and league present them, and they end up bankrupt and out of the sport.
Rolle was a Rhodes Scholar who studied at Oxford. Not everyone can have that kind of brain power, but it remains fascinating how many draft picks just don't comprehend the amazing amount of power that they possess or how easy it should be for them to succeed. A University of Michigan study showed that 45 percent of retired NFL players age 50-plus and 48 percent of those ages 30-49 said they have at some point “experienced significant losses in business or financial investments.”
"My advice to a lot of players that are going to get drafted is save your money, live responsibly," said Rolle. "Hire good advisers, and trust them. Take care of your bodies as much as possible.
To read the full article, please click here.