The Syracuse Crunch front office prepared a sheet of talking points for players Eric Neilson and J.T. Wyman in preparation for their anti-bullying talk Thursday at Ed Smith Elementary School.
Nothing on that outline, however, could have prepared Wyman for his last question of the day. It came during a one-on-one chat with a young boy after the players wrapped up their presentation in front of about 600 students.
The student asked Wyman if it's true that some children are bullied so bad that they sometimes are driven to cut their wrists or even commit suicide. Wyman was taken aback but recovered nicely.
"I said yeah, that's a worst-case scenario,'' Wyman said. "But that has happened to kids. That's why it's important to stand up for kids who are bullied. That what brings us out here. To prevent instances like that.''
The players had a large, enthusiastic audience of second through eighth-graders to share that message with on Thursday. The talk was the last in a series of three sessions the Crunch held at local schools this week.
The team added a carrot to the importance of the meetings by offering a free ticket to every student who signed an anti-bullying pledge. But Thursday, the presence of two professional athletes seemed to be enough to lock in the students' short-lived attention.
"It's always important to have role models, especially those who are visible in the community,'' said school principal Sam Barber. "Any time you have someone they respect, they are going to listen to them a lot more. Especially if they think the guys are cool.''
Neilson and Wyman, a pair of charismatic forwards, were a natural fit to deliver the message. Before the meeting began, Wyman said he was the victim of verbal bullying in the fourth grade when he moved from one school near Minneapolis to another.
"I was kind of an outsider,'' Wyman said. "They'd just get on me a bit, (he'd) be excluded from certain things. It's terrible, especially at the sort of age when you develop friends.''
When the players asked how many in the audience had been bullied, almost every student raised their hand.
"That (stopping bullying) starts with your classmates and your friends,'' Wyman said. "You guys make the decision whether to bully someone else, or not.''
Neilson created illustrative skits off the top of his head. In the first, Wyman mocked his long hair.
"I don't like that. I think I have great hair,'' Neilson said.
Neilson then played the heavy by pretending to steal a book that Wyman was reading.
"Stealing is not very nice. That's another form of bullying,'' Wyman said.
The players then went over strategies to prevent or counter bullying. They stressed the importance of telling an authority figure, such as a teacher or a coach. Neilson said respect for others is vital in cutting off the problem at its roots.
"If you take anything from today, it's one word - respect,'' Neilson said. "Think before you act. Think before you speak.''
One student asked what to do when there's no one around to help when they are getting bullied.
"That's where it's really hard. That's when it hurts the most,'' Wyman said. "That's why you need your classmates to come in and help. If you see someone being bullied, know that they need your help.''
Another student wondered how to deal with being bullied by someone who was bigger than them.
"You walk away from it. You turn and walk away,'' Neilson said. "You go talk to a teacher. You go talk to a coach.''
Feedback from the chat was impossible to ignore. The players lingered for several minutes after the conclusion of the talk, shaking hands and signing autographs. One student asked Neilson to sign a T-shirt.
"Sure can. What did you learn?'' Neilson said.
"Bullying is not nice,'' the student responded, passing the most important test of the day.