Apr 22, 2020Former pro athletes trade in jerseys for medical scrubs
While professional athletes around the world are held in limbo, waiting for sports to open back up so they can get back to work, some former professional athletes are jumping to the frontlines to aid in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
In a recent story from USA Today Sports, Scott Gleeson highlighted six former pro athletes-turned-medical professionals who are doing their part to help flatten the curve and provide care.
Below are some of the athletes Gleeson highlighted in his USA Today Sports story.
- Myron Rolle, NFL: The 33-year-old former sixth-round pick by the Tennessee Titans is a third-year neurosurgery resident at Massachusetts General Hospital. Rolle skipped his senior season at Florida State University to accept a Rhodes Scholarship from Oxford to achieve his dream of becoming a brain surgeon.
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Photo: Tricia Hall / Creative Commons Hayley Wickenheiser, Canadian Olympic hockey player: The four-time Olympic gold medal winner was attending medical school at the University of Calgary in 2018 and has since been pulled from her clinical rotations to assist medical professionals by gathering protective equipment for doctors, according to the New York Times. Wickenheiser, 41, was also a key voice in urging the International Olympic Committee to postpone the 2020 Olympics.
- Marshall Leonard, MLS: The former New England Revolution defender traded in his soccer kit for medical scrubs. The 39-year-old is working in New York City after completing his ER residency in 2019 at Stony Brook University. “I understand very quickly in medical school and my residency, you understand what sickness is, what death is, and you see that on a daily basis, really, in your residency,” Leonard said on ESPN’s Sportcenter. “At the end of the day, you all have this common goal to get somebody healthy or at least calm their nerves in a stressful time.”
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To see the rest of Gleeson’s list of pro athletes turned healthcare workers, read his full story by clicking here.
