About 30 years ago, before Jason Colero came to work for the Toronto Argonauts, he was bullied to the point of having suicidal thoughts.

As a 4-foot-11, 85-pound high school football player, and the smallest kid at Runnymede Collegiate, Colero was an easy target.

Players took his personal equipment, knocked him down after the whistle, threw his clothes in a dirty shower and stuffed him in a locker.

Now’s he’s still only 5-foot-4, but he’s no longer a bully victim.

In fact, as the director of education and community programs for the Argonauts, the 44-year-old continues to wage a campaign against bullies.

By engaging the Argonaut players as speakers, he spreads the message to GTA schools that bullying is not cool, and 500,000 students so far have heard the rallying cry.

Huddle Up, the anti-bullying program he launched in 2000-01 for the CFL team, will be in its 15th season next year.

Recently, nine members of the Argos and a handful of cheerleaders took a one-day workshop at the Toronto Police College to learn the latest research into the motivations of bullies and the effects of their behaviour.

Police, educators and York University professor Dr. Debra Pepler led the discussions.

Starting in January, a fresh team of Argos will be hitting schools in the GTA to spread the message and give personal testimonials.

“I thought of taking my life,” Colero recalled of his Grade 9 season. “I had the thoughts that I don’t belong.”

Soon, Colero went looking elsewhere for a sense of belonging, and after repeated phone calls to the Argos, they hired him as a ball boy in June of 1985.

Despite his worries, he fit in easily with the players.

“These guys were treating me as one of their own and I was not even close to their size,” Colero recalled. “I felt more a part of that family than I ever did at high school.”

A friend, who had defended him in high school, told Colero, “Man, I’m so proud of you.”

It was a blessing for Colero. “I say to kids, ‘He did a small act that changed a whole life.’ ”

Colero worked his way up to assistant equipment manager, and now to director of education and community relations.

James Yurichuk, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound Argo linebacker from Brampton, has been the victim of bullying and, regretfully admits, was one himself.

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When Yurichuk visits schools, his main message to the students is that, when it comes to bullies and victims, there are no winners.

In elementary school, Yurichuk bullied a schoolmate because he was jealous of his smarts.

“He was an exceptional student,” Yurichuk said during a break in the training. “And he was getting lots of attention, always having the right answer and receiving praise for his gift of intelligence. I bullied him because of that.”

He didn’t bully physically, but rather through insults and jabs.

When the schoolmate stopped answering questions in class and deliberately bombed tests in hopes of escaping the bullying, Yurichuk realized the negative effect his actions were having and felt terrible.

Immediately, he apologized and the schoolmate returned to his old self.

“It made me feel better and made him feel better,” the Argo said. “I tell the kids that this guy has gone on to great things.”

The victim went to Harvard and has become a neurosurgeon.

“Now he’s saving hundreds of lives,” Yurichuk said. “What would have happened if I didn’t let that guy excel like he was supposed to? You never know what someone’s going to do later in life.”

As it turns out, both the reformed bully and the victim are in touch and have a great mutual respect and friendship. He comes to Yurichuk’s Christmas party every year.

“It’s someone who I’ve come to admire,” Yurichuk said.

Yurichuk has gone on to great things too. This past CFL season, he was awarded the Jake Gaudaur Veterans’ Award given for demonstrating the attributes of Canadian veterans in times of war, military conflict and peace with his brave play on the field and his tireless community efforts.

The Huddle-Up program has added a new initiative: For the second year, the Argos are teaming up with the white ribbon campaign to speak out about violence against women.

That program, called “Huddle Up, Make the Call,” includes student-led initiatives and athlete testimonials to address gender-based violence.

The focus is on the “little actions,” and that’s why the Argos and their partners have created the Twitter hashtag #littleACTIONS.

“It’s about starting to talk about the culture,” said Shai Kohen, project manager for the white ribbon campaign.

“With these athletes, you get told, ‘You’re the best, you’re the greatest thing since sliced bread, you can do anything you want,’ and you start to believe that and maybe that leads into your behaviour.”

Cheerleaders, such as Jackie and Marielle (they don’t reveal last names as part of Argo policy to protect their safety), will talk to school girls about stereotypes.

Marielle, a rookie on the team, is a chemistry student at the University of Waterloo and the only woman in her class.

“I really connect with stereotyping,” she says, “because I’m tall and blond. It’s really hard to gain respect from peers and colleagues when you are stereotyped in a specific way. I’m looked at as a Barbie. It’s hard to see past the cheerleader stereotype.”

A new member of the Huddle Cup program is Argonauts rookie wide receiver Natey Adjei, who heard the anti-bullying message from former Argo Michael Fletcher as a student in 2004.

“It had a profound effect on me,” Adjei said, “and made me not want to even think about bullying anybody because I looked up to him.”

All this positive messaging is occurring at an awkward time, as the Argos find themselves in a swirl of negative publicity regarding the state of their franchise.

Colero said it saddens him to hear such talk.

“It’s almost like we’ve put on a cape in the off-season to make a difference. These guys are my heroes.”