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A pink shirt day was held Sunday at the Windsor Express game where fans were asked to wear the colour in support of an ongoing local anti-bullying initiative.

SAFE Windsor, a coalition of local groups, largely promotes anti-bullying of the LGBT community, but also discrimination against any youth.

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The group partnered with Windsor Express because bullying is often prevalent in sports teams where kids get teased because of physical abilities, said Patrick Kelly, co-chairman of SAFE Windsor, which includes the Teen Health Centre, Family Services, local school board, Windsor police, local health unit and AIDS committee as members of the coalition.

“If you look at the statistics, 25 per cent of kids by Grade 4 experience bullying,” he said. “Up to 10 to 15 per cent of teenagers experience serious bullying.

“If it starts early and lasts too long we know it leads to lifelong issues such as depression and eating disorders — that’s on top of any violence that might occur with bullying itself.”

Photo by Dax Melmer / Windsor star

The first 500 fans attending the Express game Sunday against the Niagara River Lions received pink cardboard megaphones which they could bring to school or their workplace as a symbol “to shout out and stop bullying,” Kelly said.

“The only way bullying stops is when people see it, they say something to stop it,” he said.

“Often bullying happens in the shadows — it’s even worse with cyber-bullying. It’s only when people stand up and say something that it stops.”

For more information on the coalition and its anti-bullying efforts, go to safewindsor.com.