Myron Rolle (1986- )

September 11, 2020 
/ Contributed By: Samuel Momodu

|Myron Rolle|

Myron Rolle|Myron Rolle|Myron Rolle

© Barry Chin/The Boston Globe

Myron Rolle is a neurosurgery resident who at one time played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Tennessee Titans. Rolle was born on October 30, 1986 to Beverly Rolle and Whitney Rolle (his father) in Houston, Texas. The Rolle family were immigrants from the Bahamas. Myron Rolle is the youngest of five children. He has three cousins who played in the NFL: Antrel Rolle, for the Arizona Cardinals, New York Giants, and Chicago Bears; Brian Rolle for the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers; and Samari Rolle for the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens. The Rolle family moved from Houston to Galloway Township, New Jersey when Myron was a child. He attended Peddie School located in Hightstown, New Jersey. While there he played for the football, basketball, and track teams. He also played saxophone in the school band and performed in school plays.

In 2005 Rolle transferred to the Hun School in Princeton, New Jersey where he continued to play for the school football and basketball teams. While maintaining a 4.0 GPA, he was also an All-American and the number one high school prospect in the country in 2006. That same year Rolle won the Franklin D. Watkins Memorial Trophy, the premier African American scholar/ athlete honor in the United States for high school males. After graduating from high school in 2006, Rolle enrolled in Florida State University where he played safety for the FSU Seminoles. During his time playing with the Seminoles, he earned Associated Press 3rd team All-American honors, Football Writers Association American 2nd team, All Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) team, and Cosida Academic All-America honors.

Rolle earned his bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from FSU in 2008. He also won a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University for one year which he accepted before entering in the 2010 NFL Draft. Rolle was selected 207th overall by the Tennessee Titans.

Despite his selection by the Titans, Rolle never played a regular season game with the team because of his low position on the depth chart. He remained with the Titans through the 2011 NFL season and then joined the Pittsburgh Steelers prior to the 2012 NFL season but would later be released.

In 2013, Rolle left the NFL to attend medical school at Florida State University College of Medicine. He graduated with a medical degree in neurosurgery in 2017. Rolle then took a neurosurgery residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. In July 2020, Rolle became one of the first former NFL players who said the League should either delay or cancel the 2020 NFL season due to COVID-19.

Myron Rolle is married to pediatric dentist Latoya Legrand-Rolle; they currently live in Boston, Massachusetts.

Author Profile
Samuel Momodu Graduation Photo

Samuel Momodu, a native of Nashville, Tennessee, received his Associate of Arts Degree in History from Nashville State Community College in December 2014 and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History from Tennessee State University in May 2016. He received his Master of Arts Degree in history from Southern New Hampshire University in June 2019.

Momodu’s main areas of research interest are African and African American History. His passion for learning Black history led him to contribute numerous entries to BlackPast.org for the last few years. Momodu has also worked as a history tour guide at President Andrew Jackson’s plantation home near Nashville, the Hermitage. He is currently an instructor at Tennessee State University. His passion for history has also helped him continue his education. In 2024, he received his Ph.D. in History from Liberty University, writing a dissertation titled The Protestant Vatican: Black Churches Involvement in the Nashville Civil Rights Movement 1865-1972. He hopes to use his Ph.D. degree to become a university professor or professional historian.

CITE THIS ENTRY IN APA FORMAT:

Momodu, S. (2020, September 11). Myron Rolle (1986- ). BlackPast.org. https://new.blackpast.org/african-american-history/myron-rolle-1986/

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