Athletes are expected to perform to a certain level of greatness. NFL-ers are supposed to be tough, gritty, and mean; same with NHL-ers. Soccer players are supposed to be quick and full of finesse. Now, within each sport there are expectations for certain races and genders and that is what I will be focussing on. Myron Rolle was a safety for the Florida State Seminoles from 2006-08. There are a couple important things you should know that will pertain to this narrative. First of all, Myron Rolle is an African American athlete, was one of the premier defensive players in college football at the time, and was set to be a high pick in the 2008 NFL draft. In addition to all that athletic stuff, he had a great mind as well. He finished his bachelors degree in Pre-Med in two and a half years and with a 3.75 GPA nonetheless. His success in the classroom earned him a Rhodes Scholarship.
When we think of black athletes performing their identity in college football or the NFL, words such as strong and dominant come to mind. The book states it in a similar way, it says, "Conventional stereotypes hold that African Americans are physically dominant while white athletes are mentally superior" (Billings, Butterworth, and Turman). Words like smart and intelligent usually aren't included in that same discourse with African American football players, but Myron Rolle showed us how they can connect. In the book the authors talk about being able to fully connect with two different groups. In Myron's case he had to fit in as an outstanding athlete and a top-tier student. Lets just say his performance on the field didn't hurt his performance in the classroom, and vise versa.
He exemplified what it meant to be a successful African American Student-Athlete. Up until that point people just thought success was measured on the football field or the basketball court. After this made national headlines, as seen in the clip above from ESPN, people changed their frame of mind to be more accepting and to realize that African Americans can be smart as well as good athletes.
You know how I said that he was slated to be a top pick in the draft coming out of college, well, he passed on that potentially lucrative deal and took a year to study in Oxford on the Rhodes Scholarship. He ended up getting drafted into the NFL after he came back from the year in Oxford, but one of his main goals in life is to become a neurosurgeon. That just goes to show you how performing race in sports doesn't always have to go along with the stereotypes.
