Super Bowl Champion Antrel Rolle of the New York Giants was honored today in a ceremony at his old high school, South Dade Senior High in Homestead, Florida. With family and friends and community leaders in attendance, Rolle was presented with a proclamation declaring “Antrel Rolle Day” in the City of Homestead.
As the current Buccaneer football team, cheerleaders and the school’s senior class looked on, Rolle was presented with the proclamation from Mayor Steve Bateman. Among the other speakers honoring Rolle were the Mayor of Florida City Otis Wallace, Former Mayor Roscoe Warren, his former Pee Wee league coach, former University of Miami teammate Quadtrine Hill and his former high school position coach Nathaniel Hudson Jr., who was just recently named the school’s varsity head coach.
Rolle, a standout in the late 90s with the Buccaneers who then went on to star as a cornerback for the University Miami before being drafted by the Arizona Cardinals with the 8th pick in the 2005 draft, was lauded with stories from his youth as well as stories about his philanthropy in giving back to his community. In 2009, Rolle donated $30,000 to South Dade for a new weight room that would later be christened “The Rolle Room” as well as providing new uniforms for the team. He also has donated money to his former Pop Warner team, the Florida City Razorbacks, when they needed to fund their trip to the National Championship.
The ceremony concluded with his family joining him on stage (including his dad Al, the Homestead Chief of Police and his mother Armelia who is an administrator with Miami Dade County Public Schools) for Rolle’s closing remarks. His speech was capped off with a story from when he was 6 years old when he played with a kid who would eventually be his teammate at the University of Miami, the late Sean Taylor (whose father was in attendance). He mentioned that his switch to the number 26 when he signed with the Giants was to honor his friend, who he called the best safety in the game. You can see the full speech below.
Video Courtesy of South Dade Senior High TV Production (Luis Gonzalez and Cesar Sapin)
Pictures Courtesy of City Of Homestead