Though the New York Mets warned R.A. Dickey that it will void his contract if he gets hurt climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, the pitcher is going forward with the excursion in the name of sex trafficking.
"The thought of what these girls are subjected to, it's just horrifying," Dickey told The Wall Street Journal. "It really is. It's horrifying."
The 37-year-old is scheduled to leave Nashville for Tanzania on Jan. 4 with the Mets' Dave Racaniello and Rockies' Kevin Slowey to climb the tallest freestanding mountain on Earth, the New York Daily News reports. His goal is to raise funds and awareness for Bombay Teen Challenge, a nonprofit that provides shelter and rehabilitation for women and children in India who have been forced into prostitution.
Despite his lofty goals, the team's management is concerned about the potential health risks and injuries he may face on the 19,336-foot climb.
"If we thought it was a good idea, we wouldn't have sent the letter," Mets general manager Sandy Alderson told The Wall Street Journal. "Beyond that, have we tried to dissuade him from going? It seems to me that the letter is enough of an effort to dissuade him, and he intends to go on nonetheless."