Buchanan On Bullying

We recently caught up with Boston Canons professional lacrosse star Kevin Buchanan who, believe it or not, was bullied when he was in middle school.  What was appealing about his story was finding out  that no one is really immune to being picked on.

We met at Fresh City in Newton, where he was appearing to promote the Canons, Fresh City's healthy menu and meet with local students and lacrosse fans.  Buchanan has joined a number of other professional sports players to be featured at the Boston Sports Museum initiative against bullying: Boston Vs. Bullies.

Buchanan, a key attacker for the Canons, was overweight as a young student and wore a set of glasses with thick lenses to correct a vision problems.  He also suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. But it was the weight that made kids call him "Pudge."  He admits that it was not an easy time and he often suffered from bouts of depression.

To deal with the hurt, Buchanan simply went along with it, and painfully, “laughed it off as good-spirited’’ teasing. Parent and teacher awareness, overall sensitivity to the subject of bullying, was minimal then. There were no DVDs, no facilitator’s guides. The two-step coping mechanism was: 1. grin; 2. bear it.

“That’s not what I’d tell a kid today,’’ says Buchanan. “What it comes down to, really, is that you have to stand up for yourself. Not physically, because that usually doesn’t end well. But you have to tell kids to back off, or ask an adult — maybe a teacher or parent — to help you make that case.’

Congratulations to a sports star who is not only willing to stand up for what is right but also has experienced the problem first hand and can speak to kids directly about it.

Here is part of Buchanan's message and advice on what to do when being bullied.