Myron Rolle, Former FSU Safety, Unveils Plans to Build Clinic and Sports Complex in Exuma, Bahamas

While Martellus Bennett is touting the stereotypical "Black Olympics," former Florida State University safety Myron Rolle is turning his dreams into reality. Rolle and his family have announced plans to build the Myron L. Rolle Medical Clinic and Sports Complex in Steventon, Exuma in the Bahamas, where his parents are from. According to media reports, the complex will provide free health services to the residents of Exuma and a state-of-the-art wellness and training facilities for athletes and visitors to Exuma. Rolle, who plans to enter the NFL Draft in 2010 to pursue a professional football career, will leave for England shortly, where he'll earn a Masters degree in Medical Anthropology from Oxford University. His actions are admirable and should be applauded. If there were more people who chose to give back to their communities, then the world would be in a better shape.

"It's really pertinent, because the people of Exuma, if there is something really serious happening to them, medically, at night especially, and they have to catch a flight to Nassau, the main island, it's very inconvenient, and a lot of people can't afford that flight," Rolle said, in a telephone interview this afternoon after his ceremony. "A lot of times that may be the difference between their life being saved or not, that time gap. So I think this is going to be a special project."

There are only two doctors on the island right now, and Rolle said he has had a vision to build a hospital or clinic in the area since he was much younger. There's still some red tape he has to go through, but expects the dream to be realized in the next two or three years. The first priority is the clinic, and then they'll start on an eight-lane track with a field turf interior. There will also be a fitness alumni center adjacent to the clinic.

"That's pretty much so if I want to come or some of my NFL buddies want to come and work out in Exuma, it's another option, another alternative for the high school and junior high kids who run track," he said. "It's pretty exciting. Track is definitely a big sport in the Bahamas. There are a lot of young athletes who are doing very well and succeeding in Exuma, so this is another arena for them to do that."

He's already been guaranteed five acres of land, and has a lot of support from the island administrator. The project will be executed in conjunction with the Bahamas Ministry of Health and the Florida State University College of Medicine, based in the United States. During the program, FSU medical students and doctors will travel to the Bahamas and provide free medical care and supplies to Exumians. The program will be funded through the Myron L. Rolle Foundation. Source: ESPN

I wish more of our African American men and women could take a page out of his book. "I didn't feel I needed a lot of capital as far as money is concerned to get any of this started. All I needed was a big heart, a passion, motivation and drive, and the right people around me," he said. That pretty much sums it all up. If each person took up a cause that they believe in, whether it is to help an at-risk child to read, or to volunteer at a battered-women's shelter, or to be a mentor to a young boy or girl for example, the results would be beyond our wildest imagination. Myron Rolle is the ultimate servant-leader and he is worthy of being emulated -- a true role model in every sense of the word!

Martellus Bennett, Dallas Cowboys Tight End, Draws Ire for Stereotypical YouTube Video About "Black Olympics"

My late maternal grandmother always said, "if you have nothing good to say, it's better to just say nothing." This is so appropriate for Cowboys tight end Martellus Bennett, who just said he was "just having fun" when he filmed an offensive YouTube video about "Black Olympics." He also reportedly said that he doesn't expect the episode to warrant discipline from the Cowboys. I first learned about this offensive video when Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock let loose on athlete and his brother, Michael, who is a rookie for the Seattle Seahawks. The two men competed eating fried chicken and watermelon and drinking Kool-Aid.

Bennett told the Michael Irvin radio show on Monday that he didn't intend to offend others, but doesn't think the video was racially insensitive. "I don't really think it's offensive," Bennett told Irvin. "It depends on your sense of humor and how you look at things. We were just having fun and it was very funny for me and my brothers, when I look at it I just can't stop laughing. If someone takes offense, I apologize. That wasn't my intention. It was just us having fun."

Bennett told Irvin he would not have a problem with a white person acting out something like the "Black Olympics." There's white comedians that do stuff like that all the time," he said. "I think it's funny to attack stereotypes. It's funny how people just put people in a certain light and say that's what all the people do of a certain race or particular person, so it's fun to attack those stereotypes." Source: USA Today

What you do in the privacy of your own home is your prerogative, but when it is put on YouTube, for example, then it becomes a real problem. The video was offensive and in poor taste. How can we ever expect to be taken seriously as a people when we go around perpetuating the same negative stereotypes that upset us to no end when a white person utters those same offensive words or caricatures us in that manner? Come on. Surely we can do better than this.

Martellus Bennett isn't the only one who should draw anger, his brother is just as complicit in this as he is. For the record, Martellus Bennett is no stranger to a YouTube controversy. The Cowboys already fined Bennett once for releasing a profanity-filled rap video on YouTube, but the fine was later reduced. It's amazing that the Cowboys could come out swinging against him with the profanity-laced video, but remain silent on the stereotypical and offensive video.