6 ms·

Choosing a Rhodes Scholarship over the NFL?

29 points by tortilla 18y ago

antidaily 18y ago
I remember when schools were recruiting this guy and he said academics were very important to him. I chuckled when he went to Florida State (not a knock on FSU, but they're not a top public school). But apparently, he was pretty serious about academics. Great story. Happy for him.
- dhimes 18y ago
  Hell, I chuckled when I went to Florida State. But I loved it.
iamdave 18y ago
I'm going to completely rewrite my comment: That was a terrible article. While I applaud and wish this young man the absolute BEST of luck, this journalist did him absolutely NO justice by throwing in such random and completely pointless hyperbole, making knee jerk references to other NFL players who aren't living up to some imaginary line of a standard, and then she follows this up by insulting the readers, saying we are "infatuat[ed] with talented athletes who are hopelessly immature and irresponsible prevents us from fully appreciating someone like Rolle and giving him the attention he deserves." Mr. Rolle, I commend what you are doing, good luck thank you for proving this journalist wrong by your actions, not your words.
markessien 18y ago
There are thousands of people who studied what he studied and have made no impact. Most likely, he will also make no impact in the field he studies. In my opinion, he's making a poor decision - you have many many years to study anything you want, but just a few years where you can be a great athlete. And this story is not relevant to any other players - they found the thing they love and they became great at it - just because they do not go study public health or some other irrelevant thing to them does not make them any lesser. The journalist probably studied somewhere where intellectualism is supposed to be good just for itself. So for her, 'good' is defined by intellectualism. One could just as well turn this argument the other way round, and the pro football players could mock her for being so weak at sports. This person has some passions and he's following them. This does not mean that every other person who has a passion in some field has to also have a passion in some unrelated subject that just happens to be offered at oxford.
- whacked_new 18y ago
  I agree with the author, that Rolle made a good decision. I also agree with your opinion about many years in study but a few years for a great athlete (caveat: for sports where speed and power are critical factors). But the theme here, as applicable to a more general audience, sports-inclined or book-inclined alike, is the weighing of opportunities. In absolute terms of wealth and success and impact, you're probably right. It's much more likely that Rolle would play a larger role in the NFL (after all, the turnover rate is high, so there's room for many superstars). Here's what I think is the catch. Going to Oxford is a double win, because 1. it's a different culture, 2. it's the elite of a different culture. The value isn't in the books. It's in the environment and the discussion. It's in how the experience will change his worldview, and will prime him to think with an expanded mindset. It's a bit unscientific for me to say this, but I have become convinced that global thinking is literally impossible to people who don't actually live through it; for those who have, the later they experience it, the less they are able to appreciate it. So Back to Rolle: if he had two options of seemingly equal value, say, 2 years of NFL superstar + 2 years of Oxford, or the other way around, I would always pick the latter option, simply because it's earlier.
- neilc 18y ago
  Most likely, he will also make no impact in the field he studies. Opening a free medical clinic in the Bahamas is not something I would describe as "no impact". He might not fundamentally change the world, but even doing something as small as that makes the world a better place. this story is not relevant to any other players Sure it is: it's an example of a first-rate athlete who is also a very capable student, which is part of the whole idea behind college sports. That's certainly not the norm, in American college football at least.
  - fallentimes 18y ago
    But he could likely make a greater impact investing his NFL earnings (and time post-retirement) in to such endeavors.
    - captainobvious 18y ago
ShabbyDoo 18y ago
I live in Cleveland, and it was a "controversy" a few years ago when LeBron James entered the NBA instead of going to college first. People said, "He's giving up this great opportunity for an education." Huh? When Nike pays you $90M for endorsing shoes, you can afford to pay the authors of your favorite text books to come to your house and tutor you. Playing basketball in exchange for $50K/year (max) in tuition reimbursement when you could be playing for millions is idiotic. What if you get hurt? And, you're giving up what are literally four of your best earning years. Even if not via a Rhodes scholarship, wouldn't Oxford still accept this guy a decade from now? What about attending in the off-season? I once met a guy who played football for the Cowboys in the early '80s. He attended a top-tier medical school part-time while playing and went to law school at Stanford when he finally "retired." Was he rational? I'm all for education (or, more precisely, becoming educated), but if someone had offered me $10M/year to stare at a wall for 2000 hours a year in lieu of college for four years, I think I'd have taken the offer. Think of all the learning I could be doing now if I didn't have to have that day job!
- Prrometheus 18y ago
  Sports are knocked because they are low-brow and middle-class. But objectively, I think sport is a performance art that is every bit as wonderful as a great ballet or concert. Memories of the great sporting performances will last for centuries. Moreover, it is unique every time. Something tells me that no journalist would look down on somebody for giving up an Oxford education to pursue a fine arts career, but that tells you more about the shared values of journalists than the relative merits of the activities.
  - nazgulnarsil 18y ago
    Memories of the great sporting performances will last for centuries. no they won't. Do you remember any great sporting moments from the 1700's?
    - pg 18y ago
      There weren't any then, in our sense. In those days the word sport meant hunting. The closest thing would have been prize-fighting. I believe there are some fights from that far back that are still famous among aficionados today.
sachinag 18y ago
One, he's putting the NFL off for just a year - given his physical gifts, he'll still get drafted. The man made a decision for his personal happiness - he decided that this would make him happy. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are enshrined in our Declaration of Independence as the inalienable rights of man. The founders made a conscious decision to step away from Locke's framework of life, liberty, and property (although Locke used the word estate). They did so for a reason. And if you think the "pursuit of happiness" is meaningless, Loving v. Virginia should disabuse you of this notion. Good for Rolle. I wish more people did what made them happy instead of what would make them the most money. It's the real American way.
- dkasper 18y ago
  Exactly, I wish people would quit talking about what the "best" decision is and just applaud the guy for doing what he loves and wants to rather than what people tell him he should do. Isn't that what we are all doing here?
lallysingh 18y ago
Good for him. He'll still do fine financially, and the education will make the experience of his life better. (I'm exaggerating for effect here:) Would you rather be a rich moron, or a smart upper-middleclasser?

29 points by tortilla 18y ago

I remember when schools were recruiting this guy and he said academics were very important to him. I chuckled when he went to Florida State (not a knock on FSU, but they're not a top public school). But apparently, he was pretty serious about academics. Great story. Happy for him.

dhimes 18y ago
Hell, I chuckled when I went to Florida State. But I loved it.

iamdave 18y ago

I'm going to completely rewrite my comment: That was a terrible article. While I applaud and wish this young man the absolute BEST of luck, this journalist did him absolutely NO justice by throwing in such random and completely pointless hyperbole, making knee jerk references to other NFL players who aren't living up to some imaginary line of a standard, and then she follows this up by insulting the readers, saying we are "infatuat[ed] with talented athletes who are hopelessly immature and irresponsible prevents us from fully appreciating someone like Rolle and giving him the attention he deserves." Mr. Rolle, I commend what you are doing, good luck thank you for proving this journalist wrong by your actions, not your words.

markessien 18y ago

There are thousands of people who studied what he studied and have made no impact. Most likely, he will also make no impact in the field he studies. In my opinion, he's making a poor decision - you have many many years to study anything you want, but just a few years where you can be a great athlete. And this story is not relevant to any other players - they found the thing they love and they became great at it - just because they do not go study public health or some other irrelevant thing to them does not make them any lesser. The journalist probably studied somewhere where intellectualism is supposed to be good just for itself. So for her, 'good' is defined by intellectualism. One could just as well turn this argument the other way round, and the pro football players could mock her for being so weak at sports. This person has some passions and he's following them. This does not mean that every other person who has a passion in some field has to also have a passion in some unrelated subject that just happens to be offered at oxford.

whacked_new 18y ago
I agree with the author, that Rolle made a good decision. I also agree with your opinion about many years in study but a few years for a great athlete (caveat: for sports where speed and power are critical factors). But the theme here, as applicable to a more general audience, sports-inclined or book-inclined alike, is the weighing of opportunities. In absolute terms of wealth and success and impact, you're probably right. It's much more likely that Rolle would play a larger role in the NFL (after all, the turnover rate is high, so there's room for many superstars). Here's what I think is the catch. Going to Oxford is a double win, because 1. it's a different culture, 2. it's the elite of a different culture. The value isn't in the books. It's in the environment and the discussion. It's in how the experience will change his worldview, and will prime him to think with an expanded mindset. It's a bit unscientific for me to say this, but I have become convinced that global thinking is literally impossible to people who don't actually live through it; for those who have, the later they experience it, the less they are able to appreciate it. So Back to Rolle: if he had two options of seemingly equal value, say, 2 years of NFL superstar + 2 years of Oxford, or the other way around, I would always pick the latter option, simply because it's earlier.
neilc 18y ago
Most likely, he will also make no impact in the field he studies. Opening a free medical clinic in the Bahamas is not something I would describe as "no impact". He might not fundamentally change the world, but even doing something as small as that makes the world a better place. this story is not relevant to any other players Sure it is: it's an example of a first-rate athlete who is also a very capable student, which is part of the whole idea behind college sports. That's certainly not the norm, in American college football at least.
- fallentimes 18y ago
  But he could likely make a greater impact investing his NFL earnings (and time post-retirement) in to such endeavors.
  - captainobvious 18y ago

ShabbyDoo 18y ago

I live in Cleveland, and it was a "controversy" a few years ago when LeBron James entered the NBA instead of going to college first. People said, "He's giving up this great opportunity for an education." Huh? When Nike pays you $90M for endorsing shoes, you can afford to pay the authors of your favorite text books to come to your house and tutor you. Playing basketball in exchange for $50K/year (max) in tuition reimbursement when you could be playing for millions is idiotic. What if you get hurt? And, you're giving up what are literally four of your best earning years. Even if not via a Rhodes scholarship, wouldn't Oxford still accept this guy a decade from now? What about attending in the off-season? I once met a guy who played football for the Cowboys in the early '80s. He attended a top-tier medical school part-time while playing and went to law school at Stanford when he finally "retired." Was he rational? I'm all for education (or, more precisely, becoming educated), but if someone had offered me $10M/year to stare at a wall for 2000 hours a year in lieu of college for four years, I think I'd have taken the offer. Think of all the learning I could be doing now if I didn't have to have that day job!

Prrometheus 18y ago
Sports are knocked because they are low-brow and middle-class. But objectively, I think sport is a performance art that is every bit as wonderful as a great ballet or concert. Memories of the great sporting performances will last for centuries. Moreover, it is unique every time. Something tells me that no journalist would look down on somebody for giving up an Oxford education to pursue a fine arts career, but that tells you more about the shared values of journalists than the relative merits of the activities.
- nazgulnarsil 18y ago
  Memories of the great sporting performances will last for centuries. no they won't. Do you remember any great sporting moments from the 1700's?
  - pg 18y ago
    There weren't any then, in our sense. In those days the word sport meant hunting. The closest thing would have been prize-fighting. I believe there are some fights from that far back that are still famous among aficionados today.

sachinag 18y ago

One, he's putting the NFL off for just a year - given his physical gifts, he'll still get drafted. The man made a decision for his personal happiness - he decided that this would make him happy. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are enshrined in our Declaration of Independence as the inalienable rights of man. The founders made a conscious decision to step away from Locke's framework of life, liberty, and property (although Locke used the word estate). They did so for a reason. And if you think the "pursuit of happiness" is meaningless, Loving v. Virginia should disabuse you of this notion. Good for Rolle. I wish more people did what made them happy instead of what would make them the most money. It's the real American way.

dkasper 18y ago
Exactly, I wish people would quit talking about what the "best" decision is and just applaud the guy for doing what he loves and wants to rather than what people tell him he should do. Isn't that what we are all doing here?

lallysingh 18y ago

Good for him. He'll still do fine financially, and the education will make the experience of his life better. (I'm exaggerating for effect here:) Would you rather be a rich moron, or a smart upper-middleclasser?