MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - Football is a tough sport for tough individuals, but sometimes that toughness can be broken down over time, without anyone knowing.

"Our biggest thing sometimes is making sure it's reported," said Haslett Athletic Director Darin Ferguson.

Bullying can be a silent drain for any student or athlete on the receiving end. Haslett Athletic Director and Assistant Principal, Darin Ferguson, deals with these situations as head of discipline at Haslett High School.

But what constitutes bullying?

"We have some student athletes who say, oh this is bullying, or it's not," said Ferguson. "So that's our toughest thing is to get student athletes to understand is that if this is unwanted behavior towards you, that's bullying."

Ferguson says that once the administration is made aware of a problem, that they will deal with the situation accordingly.

"We have a policy, a school board policy. It applies to bullying in the school but also applies to sports as well. But frankly it has to be it's a state law now, it's zero tolerance."

Ferguson says that there haven't been many incidences reported, and none in sports.

"We haven't had any that have been reported this year," Ferguson said. "It's kind of a good thing, but at the same time we need to know. If a coach comes, or a parent comes that's the biggest thing. Sometimes the student won't, but we certainly want the parent to if the student athlete is not going to let us know."

But if there are no reports, there can be no action.

"If it's continuous unwanted behavior towards you, then it's something that you need to make sure that you report, so that we can deal with it," Ferguson said.