BALTIMORE, Md. — It was almost seven weeks ago when Ravens guard Bradley Bozeman and his wife Nikki picked up their R.V. and set off on a cross-country anti-bullying tour.
Now they are back home. The tour was a success.
"It was just amazing, inspiring, jaw-dropping," said Nikki.
"It blew every expectation I had out of the water," added Bradley.
They talked to close to 10,000 kids, at schools from Maryland to California, about ways to identify and combat bullying.
"We got kind of emotional because it was so inspiring to see those kids and people open up to us and let us in," said Bradley.
When was the moment during the trip when they thought it was going to be big for them?
"I would say Albuquerque," said Bradley.
"Yeah, I think Albuquerque," Nikki responded. "They needed us to help and you could see in the kids’ faces, 'I need your help'. You would step in these schools and they would be like, 'This is our problem. This is what is the most challenging to us'. And every time it was someone being bullied.
They were scheduled to talk to thousands of more kids. Their trip was supposed to wrap up on March 23. But it ended ten days early because of the coronavirus outbreak. It was cut short on March 13 outside of Denver. They made it 12 out of the 18 schools on the itinerary.
"We’re just proud and thankful to get that far," said Nikki. "I mean, 10,000 students is not a small number."
What about the sightseeing portion of the trip?
"This country is so beautiful and getting to drive through it all made it even more amazing," said Nikki.
The highlights?
"Horseback riding in Texas. The Grand Canyon was unbelievable. Pictures don’t do it justice," said Bradley.
Nikki is planning another anti-bullying tour. There's no timeline on when that will happen just yet. It’s all to be determined - just like Bradley’s day job. He said he has ordered some workout equipment to use while NFL facilities are closed.
"To work out at home depending how bad this gets," he said. "Just making the best of the opportunities we have right now."
Follow Shawn Stepner on Twitter @StepnerWMAR and Facebook
