On Tuesday, May 14, the Toronto Argonauts partnered with Tim Hortons to present the Huddle Up Bullying Prevention Program’s student summit at the University of Toronto Athletic Centre. Over 200 students from Toronto schools attended the event. Argo players were in attendance, including Matt Black and Joe Eppele.

Elementary school students began by showing videos that they created and performed skits. Meanwhile, high school students participated in their own separate workshop with Black and players from the Varsity Blues football team. After a break, the two groups of students came together to further discuss the issue of bullying.

U of T football players Peter Harris and Shaka Fonderson discussed their motivation for participating in the summit. “I think a lot of people have experienced bullying one way or another in their life, and it’s never a good thing, especially for kids of a young age, so I think it’s important to spread awareness and show kids that you can stand up to it and that it’s not acceptable for people to do,” Harris explained.

“Like Peter said, we’ve all experienced bullying one way or another,” Fonderson added. “I think that from leaders in the community like us, it would be good if the kids understand how bullying is a bad thing.”

Eppele of the Argos was a victim of bullying when he was younger, as well as a bully later on in elementary school.

“I went through a lot of growth spurts when I was really young which made me an easy target. It got so bad that I ended up switching schools in fourth grade,” he said. “Then in fifth grade I became the bully for a while. So I’ve seen both sides of it.”

“We’ve always felt passionate about [bullying] because, in a team atmosphere, you shouldn’t have bullying, so if we have that feeling, then there’s no reason that others in their school or in their neighbourhood should,” said Jason Colero, the Argos’ director of Education & Community Programs.

Black, who went to Northern Secondary School in Toronto for high school, explained that for him, sports teams always had inclusive environments. “Football at Northern was like a big brotherhood,” he said. “It was always fun to do because you saw the comradery that they had and… encouraged guys to follow that path and look out for each other and be close together.”