ShareThisYou're having doubts about Myron Rolle's speed? Fine.
You're not sure about his lateral agility and quickness in pass coverage? Nothing unreasonable there.
You're a little concerned because he hasn't played football in a year? That's fair, too.
Any NFL team that might be interested in selecting the former Florida State safety in next month's NFL Draft should be taking a long, hard, critical look at his abilities and limitations before deciding where he ranks amongst his football-playing peers.
But to question Rolle's desire to play, merely because he chose to accept a Rhodes scholarship, bypass his senior season in Tallahassee and spend a year abroad furthering his studies amid the world's academic elite at Oxford University? You'd think the folks running NFL teams would be smarter than that.
Obviously, though, they're not.
Instead, the NFL continues to send the wrong message -- a message that goes against everything we're supposed to be teaching our kids about sports and school and priorities.
By questioning Rolle's commitment to football, just because he temporarily put academics first to embrace a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, NFL teams are telling America's youth that being big, fast, strong and athletically gifted is good enough.
They're saying that, if you're good enough in football, academics shouldn't really matter. They're saying football should be the most important thing in your life, that everything else is an unneeded distraction. And, sadly, in today's NFL, what they're saying is true.
Heck, in today's NFL, convicted felons can get multi-million-dollar contracts, as long as they can help teams win. But, apparently, Rhodes scholars can't be trusted.
In January at the Senior Bowl, where Rolle returned to football after a year of taking classes, working out on his own and playing rugby in England, NFL scouts peppered him with questions about his desire to play professionally. In fact, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers actually asked him if he felt he "deserted" the Seminoles by opting for Oxford.
Rolle said he found that question confusing. And why wouldn't he? Are juniors who leave school early to enter the draft asked if they feel they've deserted their college teams? If anything, Rolle should've found the question insulting, even infuriating, given the way everyone at Florida State supported his decision. Yet, questions about his desire to play and his long-term commitment to football provided one of the more-compelling -- and perplexing -- story lines at the just-concluded NFL Combine in Indianapolis.
As you'd expect, Rolle, who plans to go to medical school when he's done with football, has handled these questions brilliantly. He is, after all, smarter than people asking them. And through his words and performance at the Combine, he tried to erase any lingering doubts about his hunger to play in the NFL.
"I do want it," said Rolle, a 6-foot-2, 215 pounder who started 23 consecutive games at Florida State and, according to scouts, has good instincts and great vision and is strong against the run. "I want it as much as anybody who's out here right now."
He hopes to get drafted. He wants to play in the NFL for at least 10 years. Then, he'll focus his efforts on becoming a neurosurgeon.
Rolle is doing it the right way. He's a parent's dream. He's a role model, especially in the black community, where academics too often take a backseat to athletics.
Teams should be lining up to encourage, celebrate and even reward his remarkable achievement. The NFL, if it cares enough to send the right message, should give him every chance. And if it doesn't work out? If Rolle isn't good enough to play in the NFL? If he turns out to be a better story than a safety? So be it.
But to question his desire, just because he was smart enough, driven enough and disciplined enough to give himself options beyond the football field? Look, football isn't brain surgery. But, surely, it helps to have intelligent players.
You'd think the folks running NFL teams would be smart enough to know that.
Obviously, though, they're not.
(Ray McNulty is a columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers in
Florida. For more of his thoughts on sports, you can follow his blog at www.tcpalm.com/mcnulty. He can be reached at ray.mcnulty(at)scripps.com.)
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