Quotes from Myron Rolle

I've wanted to do medicine actually before I started playing football.

The Rhodes is something I've always really wanted. I would never have applied for it if I didn't really want to go. The opportunity to study at Oxford is amazing.

Whether it's one play in the NFL or 1,000 plays in the NFL, your pads will come off eventually.

The hospital has adjusted itself in response to Covid-19, the influx of patients. So walking into the hospital, you immediately realize that you're playing a different ballgame.

We are trained to be medical doctors first and if you have to put neurosurgery aside to deal with the most vulnerable and susceptible patients, then that's what we'll do.

I'm glad that I walked into my purpose. I'm glad that I walked into something that was a smooth transition from football.

Seven years of neurosurgery is a big deal, something I wanted for a long time, really excited about it.

A lot of the same joy and adrenaline rush that I felt after making a good play or winning in football I feel now after a successful surgery.

I always wanted to play in the NFL. I decided to go to Florida State University as my college to play football because the coach there - Bobby Bowden - had a pedigree and acumen for putting players into the league.

But in the NFL, you know you're not playing for the 'T' on the side of the helmet. You're not playing for the color of the Steelers. You're playing more because they're paying you to play and you have a family to take care of.

Yes, I understand that football and sports in America have been a way for us to get away from some of our most daunting moments. It's a way for us to bring the country together.

I spent three weeks lamenting, ruminating and praying because football had been part of my life since age 6. Then I moved on. I'm glad I always had another clear plan. Several of my FSU teammates did not and do not. It's hard to leave a sport that is embedded in you.

First I was still excited and elated about winning the Rhodes scholarship. That was an amazing feat. But then I put my iPod on and started listening to my pre-game music and started to switch my mind to football and was just hoping that the jet would land as quickly as possible so that I could get on the field and help my teammates win the game.

My teammates, they kid me all the time. My nickname is the doctor or the president in the locker room.

I think I've worked hard for everything that's happened but I know I've had a lot of support from family, friends, and even at Florida State. My coaches and teammates have supported me in everything I've wanted to accomplish.

You know I went to the Hunt Schools, a boarding school in Princeton, and I've heard so many Rhodes scholars have gone to the Ivys.

As an NFL rookie, I had to buy meals for older guys. I appreciate hierarchy. I understand teamwork.

Neurosurgery is a new challenge with each case. The preparation, the discipline, the technical skills and the need to perform at your very best under pressure provide the same adrenaline rush I had in football.

The first game I played against the University of Miami, I was very nervous - eyes wide open.

It could be seasonal allergies, it could be pneumonia, it could be the common cold, it could be flu. And so it takes tests and lab work and resources and scans to parse out if this is COVID-19 or if this is something else.

I feel that public service is so important and giving back, being a role model and helping people in need is something that I would love to do.

I came from a prep school in New Jersey, so I get that when I got to FSU, some people weren't sure about me - I didn't play in Florida or Texas or at a powerhouse high school.

My main mission in life is to help people and use my God-given ability to impact the world. If playing in the NFL gives me a platform to advocate for the issues that are important to me, then let's do it.

When there's something we weren't prepared for on the football field, you have to be able to use your mind, be creative, communicate, get lined up and get ready to do the play, get ready to execute.