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For example …

“It’s about being in your books and, when there are rookies who need help, being around,” Clark continues. “We want to have the next-man-up attitude as a group and that’s something that goes with teaching the rookies and helping them, and that’s every dude in our offensive meeting room and our O-line meeting room.”

And if he can provide assistance off the field, and away from the team, it is his pleasure.

“Whenever the Riders need something, being able to help them out and being in this situation, I’m very thankful that anytime they need, they ask,” Clark says.

“It’s not even the fact that we’re Saskatchewan Roughriders. It’s the fact that we’re adults who have gone through situations that, a lot of the time, the platform gives us a chance to speak about and gives us a chance to give examples of things in the past that we’ve dealt with.

“The biggest thing is we let them know that if they’re in a situation, they’re not alone. We also let them know that ‘you can get through it’ and ‘you’ve conquered 100 per cent of your worst days.’ ”

Take it from someone who knows.

“It’s never for a good cause that you’ve been bullied, and that’s something that we try to teach the kids,” Clark says. “So when we have the opportunity to be able to go into a school and be able to help out people, it’s about teaching them that bullying is a learned issue. It’s not a fact that you just wake up one day and you’re bullied.

“We let the kids know that it’s OK to talk about it. We let them know that at any time, at any moment, they can talk to someone. If that person doesn’t listen, find someone else.”

rvanstone@postmedia.com

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