Ray Lewis Not Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro After All

There have been few things--if any--that have ever been able to slow down or stop former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. Many an offensive lineman tried as did the occasional fullback; few ever saw success. No, the one thing that has ever managed to stop him has been injuries--and they've done it again.

Due to a foot injury he is not going to be able to make the climb up Mount Kilimanjaro.

Keith Allison/Flickr

Lewis has been in Africa on a humanitarian mission with TackleKili, the mission organization for World Serve International and Pros for Africa. As part of the mission, the group had been in a nearby village prior to starting their climb providing children with hearing aids.

Apparently Lewis was having issues than, but was trying to do what he does and power through it. However, during the night his fever spiked and his foot began to swell. Making the climb up Mount Kilimanjaro is tough enough for people 100 percent healthy, but when you are not it's asking for trouble and courting failure to even try.

So Lewis had to back out. Aaron Wilson from the Baltimore Sun reported in a recent article:

“In the end, Ray’s decision was to let the team move on without him, rather than hold them back or put himself in a position where an injury which requires surgery could become even more complicated,” TackleKili said in a statement. “As always, his team backed his play. So while Ray refocused his service to this cause at a lower altitude, his team began the ascent on behalf of those in desperate need of clean water.”

Well, darn. I don't know about you guys, but I was really looking forward to seeing a video of his doing this at the top.