[IMPORTANT: Make this 4 times longer with much more detail]
Don Landry CFL.ca Dejon Brissett is a guy who is mission-focused, whether he’s on the football field or on the mic, in front of a crowd of school kids. “I think it’s really important to use your platform for good,” said the Toronto Argonauts receiver, who’s been busy capping his Most Valuable Canadian performance in last November’s Grey Cup game with an off-season of inspiring and guiding the youth in his community. For Brissett, the message might be the most important thing, but the identity of the messenger is key as well, and that’s why he believes sports heroes need to be active. “Kids are told, every day, by their teachers and their parents, to stay in school,” explained the fifth-year Argo veteran, the team’s first pick, second overall, in the 2020 draft. “But when it’s somebody who they see on TV or who catches touchdowns, or is an active or former player, it means a lot more and adds a certain level of influence.” RELATED » Diversity is Strength stories, podcasts and much more » Rene using Black History Month to deliver powerful message against racism » In My Words | Bo Lokombo: Why I work with an anti-racism program » Listen: Diversity is Strength Conversations podcast » More information about the Diversity in Football Program presented by Securian Canada » Subscribe to the CFL’s newsletter for exclusive offers and league updates Even just a glance at Brissett’s Instagram page can show you that the 28-year-old native of Mississauga, Ont. backs up his talk with action. There’s a recent video of him playing snow football with some kids. There is messaging about Black History Month, and there are posts about how young football players can get some coaching and guidance at free clinics hosted by Brissett’s Ignite Sports Group, which he founded in 2022. And there are examples of Brissett displaying his easy, confident public-speaking talent, something he said he was blessed to have from the moment he first stepped in front of a crowd to speak. “I don’t know where it came from, but I feel like it’s something I’ve always been good at,” he said. “I just called up a bunch of schools in the area, and they were willing to have me go in and speak. And once I saw the reaction and how receptive the kids were to the messaging, I knew it was something I wanted to do full-time in the off-season.” “I go around to high schools,” continued Brissett, “youth groups, just giving my messaging, talking about my story, the ups and downs of my career, and the mindset you need to withstand that. And how it’s really transferable into all areas of life.” The messaging, Brissett said, is perched on a tripod of foundational aspects as a basis for his presentations; Positive self-talk, overcoming adversity, and positive communication to others. On that middle one? Adversity? Brissett’s had lots of that to overcome, especially on the injury front. His first two seasons in Toronto saw him limited to just 20 total games played due to continual hamstring problems. After a breakthrough in 2023 — where he hauled in 38 passes for 594 yards and five touchdowns in 18 games — Brissett suffered a knee injury early in the 2024 season and didn’t get back into the Argo line-up until Week 17. He made the most of a shortened season though, catching five passes for 67 yards and two touchdowns in the Week 20 win over Ottawa that clinched second place for the Argos, and followed it up with three receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown in Toronto’s 41-24 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Grey Cup Sunday. “I call it non-linear success,” explained Brissett of the importance of keeping the bigger picture in mind, even through tough times. “All the ups and downs you go through, if you look at it from a close lens, then it looks very volatile. But when you zoom out, you’re on an upward trend, because you’re light years away from where you started.” As Black History Month ends and we pivot towards spring, Brissett is getting ready for a busy March as he makes the rounds with the Argonauts’ “Huddle Up” bullying prevention program, making stops at schools across the Greater Toronto Area. It’s very fulfilling, Brissett said. Especially so when he sees connections forming in real-time with African-Canadian kids in the audience. “When I go to these inner city schools and I talk to these little black kids, it’s somebody who they can relate to. And you can just see it in their eyes, like they’re just so enamoured by what I’m saying because maybe the influences in their community aren’t positive ones all the time.” “It adds another layer of influence when they look like you, right?” “When I come in, it’s not just what they see on TV. This is somebody who they can touch. So that proximity and representation goes a really long way, and I value that. And it’s not just for black kids. It’s for youth in general, but especially with the black community, I really enjoy that layer of influence that it has.” Jason Colero, the Argos’ Director, Education and Community Programs — and the founder of the award-winning Huddle Up program — has seen, firsthand, the magnetism between Brissett and students. “Dejon has a great essence about him that gravitates to the youth at our assemblies,” wrote Colero. “He speaks to the students, letting them know that he has faced challenges like they might face now and has persevered with support from others around him.” Dejon Brissett was named Most Valuable Canadian in the 111th Grey Cup (Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca) Support from others. That’s, in part, why Brissett decided to get involved with the mentoring of youth in the first place. When he was a teenager, he was mentored by former Argonauts receiver Natey Adjei , who was with Toronto at the time. “He was a guy who took me under his wing when I was in high school,” said Brissett of Adjei, who also played for Edmonton before retiring in 2021. “And I just want to be that for as many other kids as I can, because a lot of the things that I do now are because of how he was able to to coach me.” Brissett passes that kindness down through Ignite and as he does, he says, he stays aware of the past even as he preaches the importance of “being where your feet are” while aiming to help students chart their course for a bright future. “I have some friends who, you know, made some bad decisions,” said Brissett, “and I see kids now making bad decisions. So I just want to be one of the people who helps close the gaps that kids fall through.” There are sometimes immediate rewards and Brissett can walk away feeling that he has helped to close some of those gaps, or as he puts it in his mission statement, that he has been able to “ignite the minds of the next generation.” “When they come up to me and they they tell me how it affected them in a positive way, and how it’s helped them with their mindset, just hearing that reinforcement is nice,” he said. Get all the top stories from across the league delivered to your inbox.
