NY Jet Jonotthan Harrison encourages students to tackle bullying

RIDGEFIELD – "Easy target" is the last thing you'd think looking at 300-pound, 6-foot-4 New York Jets lineman Jonotthan Harris.

But that's exactly what he was as a child, he told students at Ridgefield's Slocum Skewes School on Friday.

“I’m 26 and I still remember getting picked on in elementary school," he said. "It stays with you.”

Harrison was at Slocum Skewes to give a presentation on how to battle bullying, both in the real world and online.

“I wanted to come out here today because bullying hits home with a lot more people than you realize,” Harrison said. “It’s something that people don’t really talk about and might be embarrassed about.”

During the regular season, Slocum Skewes participated in the Upstander of the Week program, which highlights individual students who help another person in the community. As a result, the school was one of three in the state to have a player come out and talk about his own experiences with bullying.

Harrison grew up in Florida and moved around a lot in his younger years. He told the students about how he had been picked on. He weighed about 200 pounds by the time he reached the fifth grade, and that made it even more difficult to fit in as the new student. Combined with his shyness, it made him “an easy target,” he said.

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He shared a statistic with students that he said surprised him: On average in this country, 5.4 million children miss school because of bullying.

Harrison could relate to their pain. In elementary school, he said, he was deliberately tripped and tackled while playing soccer with classmates. In middle school, teens in his neighborhood threw rocks and dirt at him while he rode his bike.

He also gave the Ridgefield students tips on how to help combat bullying.

“If you know about bullying, tell an adult," he said. "You aren't being a snitch, and you will help in the long run.”

He also told students that the way he learned to combat bullying personally was to find something he was good at to build confidence. First was musical instruments, and later football.

While bullying was the main topic of discussion, students didn't shy from asking football questions when they had the chance, including “Baker Mayfield or Sam Darnold?” to which Harrison obviously chose the latter. The Jets drafted Darnold third overall last month.

The Upstander of the Week program is the result of a collaboration between the Jets and Stomp Out Bullying, a national anti-bullying and cyberbullying organization for children and teens. The organization focuses on bringing awareness and education to children, teens, parents, and schools to help minimize bullying through kindness, empathy, and acceptance of others.

Stomp Out Bullying CEO Ross Ellis was also on hand to congratulate the students and encourage them to continue their efforts.

Jets Executive Director of Community Relations Jesse Linder explained that Slocum Skewes was chosen because of the frequency and quality of their social media posts about the Upstander of the Week program last fall.

Interim Superintendent John Petrelli called the program “great” and pointed out that students, staff and administrators should be proud of the recognition.

“It means a lot because it shows that the school is taking a step in the right direction,” Petrelli said. “They are working toward a goal, which is limiting bullying.”