Good article, worth a read.

BAT is one of the great organizations in sports. They've helped a lot of players along the way, often without publicity.

I think we all saw that episode of Cribs, but I had no idea it had gotten that bad.

I used to go to the BAT dinner every year. Great event for a great cause.

I had never heard of BAT, and now there are two articles about them. They've been around for 25 years?

Wasn't Garagiola a real mover and shaker for BAT when they started out?

This is a very nice story and enlightening about both players' lives and the B.A.T. program which I'd never heard of before.

I have to say though, Tike Redman's inspirational quote is not great advice and doesn't even seem founded on his own experiences. I mean, he persevered and didn't give up, but his career was never resurrected, and his family was saved by his friends and the B.A.T. program.

"I would tell the kids today, work hard," Tike said. "Whatever you do -- rapper, basketball player, any kind of athlete or R&B -- make sure you work hard and never take it for granted at all. Don't get the big head and think you're on top of the world and nothing can knock you down. ... Whatever knocks you down, get back up. Never give up, please never give up."

Those are probably just the first jobs that came to mind, but those are careers where you probably SHOULD give up if you haven't made it by age 27 or so. Work hard and don't take it for granted, of course, but maybe when you deliver your speech at the dinner, include some more normal careers, like your wife the hair salon owner.