Recently, the Washington Commanders signed wide receiver Martavis Bryant. The 32 year-old Clemson graduate has four seasons of NFL experience on his resume since being drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers back in 2014. What raises eyebrows about the signing, though, is that Bryant has not played in the NFL in six years.

In 2018, Bryant was suspended indefinitely for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Throughout his suspension, he bounced around different football leagues including the Canadian Football League (in which he never played a game, as well as the Fan Controlled Football League, the Indoor Football League and the XFL.

Despite the setbacks, Bryant continued to work and now has a second chance in Washington, which he is not taking for granted. “I’m thankful to be here and super excited,” he said. “I’ve still got more work to put in. I have to look good.”

Gaps in a career–whether brought about by choice, family circumstances or sudden business layoffs–can be a challenging piece of history to overcome in today’s market and, depending on those circumstances, can even make it impossible to open doors. Bryant’s persistence to overcome his errors with drugs and fight back to the NFL level caught the eyes of the Commanders, who were willing to be that second chance.

I don’t follow the NFL very closely, but I certainly wish Bryant and the Commanders the best this season as they answered each others’ needs. Following the news that my application for admission to an MBA program–a second chance I’ve been seeking for over four years–was denied due to my employment background and my GPA from over 15 years ago, I sincerely hope that Bryant takes every inch of opportunity of his second chance.