A Bad Rap

TAMPA — Arizona Cardinals rookie cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie received more negative labels by the time he reached his early 20s than one person should endure.

Too sick. Too skinny. Too short. Too unstable. Too unintelligent.

That is what happens when doctors remove one of your kidneys at age 5. The underachieving labels are easily applied when you sprout to 6 feet and 150 pounds as a senior at Bradenton’s Lakewood Ranch High. People question commitment when you transfer five times in high school. Others ponder your classroom dedication after struggling to pass the FCAT.

Rodgers-Cromartie, who will turn 23 in April, has made his former tags seem preposterous this season, going from virtual obscurity to extreme notoriety. His performances have contributed to Arizona making Super Bowl XLIII to play against Pittsburgh on Sunday.

“Obviously, it is just a blessing to come from where I came from and dealing with a short hand,” Rodgers-Cromartie said. “I had to make the most of my opportunities.”

There were few reasons to believe Rodgers-Cromartie would ever have an opportunity to succeed.

His parents, Stanley Cromartie and Melissa Rodgers, separated early in their son’s life. His father always played an active role, but Rodgers-Cromartie lived with his mother.

The always-undersized Rodgers-Cromartie loved playing football and basketball when he was younger. His dad was a college basketball coach for many years and his son grew up loving sports.

Rodgers-Cromartie decided to live with father, who was the men’s basketball coach at Seminole Community College, as a high school freshman. He attended Edgewater High in Orlando, but after a season of inactivity, Cromartie enrolled his son in Orlando Lake Highland Prep, where he played football and basketball and ran track.

“He loved it,” Cromartie said. “He was the only African-American over there and he enjoyed life and playing sports again.”

That was until the school pulled Rodgers-Cromartie’s financial aid as a junior and his father could not afford the $12,000 tuition. Rodgers-Cromartie transferred back to Edgewater and once again was on the bench.

“Every day Dominique came home and said, ‘Daddy, I want to quit,’” Cromartie said. “I said, ‘Dominique, I’m not going to let you quit because if you quit, you will quit in life. If you get a job and something doesn’t go your way, it will be easy for you to quit that job. We’re not going to quit.’”

Instead, they compromised.

Rodgers-Cromartie moved back to Bradenton his senior year and played for Lakewood Ranch. He finally had the opportunity to start and played nearly every position. Although he was finally achieving academic success, faced with the possibility of not graduating because of his struggle to pass the FCAT, Rodgers-Cromartie transferred and graduated from Bradenton Center Academy. It is a private school for students who had fallen behind and helps them graduate.

The graduation was necessary for Rodgers-Cromartie to sign a scholarship with Tennessee State University. It was the only scholarship offer Rodgers-Cromartie received, and that was based largely on his father’s friendship with Rod Reed, the Tigers’ defensive coordinator. Both were roommates when they coached their respective sports at Bethune-Cookman College.

“I always told [Dominique] that Archie Manning had a plan for Peyton and Eli,” Cromartie said. “Those guys didn’t make it to the NFL on their own. They had a lot of help from their dad because their dad is a former quarterback and he knew how to pave the way.”

After his father paved the way, Rodgers-Cromartie excelled down that road.

Rodgers-Cromartie eventually dominated Division I-AA, becoming an All-American by his senior year and being selected in the first round by Arizona (16th overall) in last year’s draft.

“[My father] being a coach for 20 years of his life really helped me,” Rodgers-Cromartie said. “I learned how to be coachable and how to take coaching. That’s the main part. He kept me around after his practices and he would always try to put me in his camp. He made me better.”

Rodgers-Cromartie also has made the Cardinals better.

He began this season as Arizona’s nickel cornerback, eventually replaced Eric Green during the regular season, and has become the Cardinals’ shutdown corner in the postseason.

“He’s very reserved. He’s a quiet kid,” Arizona safety Adrian Wilson said. “I think he takes in a lot as far as listening to people — which is good. He’s a good listener and there’s a difference between listening and hearing. … I think he does a great job of listening, he takes it in and he tries to apply it to the practice field and he tries to take it from the practice field to the game.”

Rodgers-Cromartie is used to listening. It started at a young age when he received those negative labels.

Now Rodgers-Cromartie is one victory from obtaining one more label.

Super Bowl champion.

“The proudest thing for me is he’s humble and grateful for the opportunity,” Cromartie said. “A lot of times with professional athletes, you don’t get that. He’s a special kid. God blessed him and he took care of the rest.”

ANWAR S. RICHARDSON is a staff writer for The Tampa Tribune