Malik Clements had really wanted to show residents in his Danville hometown a historic football trophy this winter.
His wish was denied, but he’s still planning a special visit to the Virginia city.
The linebacker and his Winnipeg Blue Bombers didn’t get to hoist the Grey Cup after falling 28-24 to the Montreal Alouettes in the 110th Canadian Football League championship game on Nov. 19 in Hamilton, Ontario.
“It was definitely gut-blowing,” Clements said after cleaning out his Winnipeg locker and driving home to Columbus, Ohio.
“I was lost for words. At the end I literally sat on the bench for like 10, 15 minutes just trying to take it all in — like, wow, we really lost again. It was definitely heart-breaking.”
Winnipeg was upset 24-23 by the Toronto Argonauts in last year’s Grey Cup game.
Clements was playing his third CFL season, and second with the Blue Bombers, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He began his pro career in 2021 with the Edmonton Elks, one of nine teams in the league.
The Blue Bombers captured the national championship in 2019 and 2021. There was no 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While Clements still won’t get a turn to celebrate with the silver cup in his hometown, he wants to bring some long-lasting positive vibes to residents.
The 27-year-old is putting together a plan to start an outreach program in Danville that focuses on mental health.
It’s a desire that’s grown since the University of Cincinnati psychology grad began offering therapeutic services as a case manager at a Cleveland nursing home last winter.
He was also a guest speaker at the Family Mental Wellness Festival last July in Winnipeg, an event put on by Inspire Community Outreach Inc. The nonprofit social services agency provides family-centered education and programming for children and youth aged 3-29 who are living with neurological differences or mental-health challenges.
“My next step will be to have some type of community event in Danville to kind of introduce what I plan to do and give basic info on mental health,” Clements said, adding that it’ll be in the new year but no date has been set.
Programming might later involve holding yoga sessions, reiki classes, music therapy or activities that provide coping mechanisms to show the importance of doing things to improve mental health.
His long-term goal is creating a nonprofit organization. Its outreach could incorporate services by professionals such as therapists and psychiatrists. He’s also open to teaming up with an existing clinic if that would speed up the process.
“It’s really to provide therapeutic services and be a light to people in the Danville community,” Clements said.
“I want to make sure I’m giving back. That’s the city I’m from and the love is going to be there. That’s where my family is from and most of my friends are still there. It kind of molded me into the person I am today.”
‘Incredible man‘
Clements said he was searching to get involved with the Winnipeg community and came across Inspire’s website (www.inspirecommunityoutreach.ca) during the 2022 season. He loved the work it was doing and contacted founder and chief executive officer Angela Taylor.
It was a call that definitely surprised her because he was a professional football player, plus the organization she founded in 2013 isn’t a big, well-known agency.
“I booked a conversation with him and I just remember he had such a good energy. He’s such a kind man,” Taylor said.
Clements planned to attend some of Inspire’s events during his first season with the Blue Bombers, but his schedule got busy and it didn’t work out.
When Clements returned to Winnipeg for the 2023 season, Taylor reached out to him. They got together at her office with some of her colleagues. He offered to support the wellness festival at a city park, which was a free event that featured booths and gave out treats and small prizes to kids.
He made a donation for “passports” that families could buy for $10 as part of a registration that came with a new hardcover book or other special gift. He also sponsored some kids who were offered the passports for free, Taylor said.
Clements also agreed to be a guest speaker and talked to participants about his football journey, physical activity and mental health.
He was a hit.
“He’s really an incredible man,” Taylor said. “He’s an incredible athlete, but as person he’s just heartfelt and kind and very community-minded. That really spoke volumes.
“He talked about how everybody can struggle and sometimes we feel like we can’t say it or maybe we shouldn’t, but it’s really normal and there are all kinds of things we can do for ourselves.
“He talked about physical activity and sports. He was very engaged, very physically connected with the youth. It was interactive. He hopped down off the stage and he was goofing around with the kids. They were all laughing and having a great time.”
She’s aware of Clements’ plan to start an outreach program in Danville. She offered to share her experiences with him and the resources on Inspire’s website. She gave him advice such as starting small with programming that’s preferably in partnership at an existing location.
“And use what you know,” she said. “Use the people that you know, use the resources that you know to make it easier on yourself. Then you apply for little bits of funding.”
Inspire also focuses on helping parents and primary caregivers, as well as professionals who support those families such as teachers, healthcare workers, childcare workers and therapists.
“I think that he has a lot of passion and he would do a beautiful job supporting community,” Taylor said.
“I do hope that he moves forward with that because I think there’s a lot of need for supporting community. You can build magic with and for community. The idea of ‘with’ is really important, and I know that he believes that as well.
“So nothing about us without us — making sure that the youth, the families are part of the solution, part of the planning. And evidence-based. What we do at Inspire, everything is research, it’s listening to community members. That’s how we put everything together.”
Community roots
Clements definitely feels connected to Danville, which he often visits. He wants it to be a positive place to live.
His mother, Shara, was a single parent, raising him and his two brothers and sister while working at the Goodyear tire manufacturing plant. She later married Wesley Hall, who blended his three sons into the family. The couple also had a daughter together, so eight kids filled their home.
“Danville is a very small city and there’s not much to do in general,” Clements said. “A lot of their younger generation fall victim to the streets just because there’s not much to do there.
“I want to create different avenues and different ways to kind of escape problems at home or the streets or whatever the case may be.”
Clements points to experiences in his football journey as the catalyst for his passion about mental wellness.
He excelled as a wide receiver and safety at George Washington High School in Danville and also became interested in dentistry after getting braces.
He took the school’s program for becoming a certified dental assistant, with thoughts of one day getting into orthodontics.
When he got a scholarship to play for Cincinnati, he planned to major in biology. However, juggling football and schoolwork was a heavy load and his academic advisor suggested he switch majors.
He graduated in December 2018 with a Bachelor of Science as a psychology major, but also took the prerequisites for dental school.
“Looking back at it, I feel like it was a great choice because I’ve grown to become a mental-health advocate as well,” Clements said.
Dentistry is something he’s still interested in after football, although he knows it would require a lot more school and can’t predict what his life situation may be down the road.
“Football is my first love and it’s hard to get rid of that first love.”
His first love wasn’t initially kind to him.
Clements had transitioned to linebacker in his senior year at Cincinnati and prepared for Pro Day in Denver. He didn’t get drafted by the National Football League and only had a rookie tryout with the Detroit Lions.
“In my eyes, I was going to make it,” he said. “Once it got to a point where it was like that may not be the case and I might have to start the next journey, I couldn’t really sit and, I guess, come to an agreement with that.
“I was still training, but I was still in a slump because there was a possibility that football might be over. When I got in a slump, I was sort of like in a depressed state.”
Overcoming stigma
One day, he listened to a podcast by mental-health leader and author Jason Wilson. He then bought his book, “Battle Cry: Waging and Winning the War Within.” The book focuses on how men struggle to express and master their emotions.
It sparked Clements to become a mental-health advocate.
“Obviously, I’m not the only person who goes through things,” he said. “At the time, in my head it was more so that negative stigma.
“It’s not as bad now, but the negative stigma of men should hold their emotions in and if they are expressing it, then you’re considered soft or whatever the case may be.
“I wanted to kind of spread light on mental health because I know personally a lot of friends who still think like that, and I try to get them out of that way of thinking.”
Clements got a job at the dental school at the University of Chapel Hill at North Carolina, commuting an hour back and forth from Danville.
In December 2019, opportunity knocked on his door. Or rather, rang his phone.
Clements got a call from a scout for the Edmonton Elks, who had seen him at one of the CFL club’s tryouts. He signed for the 2020 season and later moved to Cleveland to train, living with longtime girlfriend Alisia Barclay.
After the CFL canceled its 2020 season, he stayed in Cleveland and worked jobs at Amazon and a dental office.
When the CFL resumed play in 2021, Clements spent his rookie season with the Elks but only played seven games because of injuries. The team finished 3-11 in a season shortened to 14 games from the usual 18 because of the pandemic.
The CFL has three downs and 12 players from each team on the field instead of 11 used in the NFL, as well as a wider and longer field.
Clements was released in February 2022 after Edmonton brought in a new dual head coach and general manager who basically cleaned house.
Things quickly improved, though, when the Blue Bombers signed him to a two-year contract the following month.
Winnipeg posted a franchise-best 15 wins in the regular season (15-3). Clements played 12 games, registering 31 defensive tackles, four special-teams tackles, one quarterback sack, one pass knockdown and one tackle for a loss.
After the Bombers lost by one point to Toronto in the Grey Cup, Clements got a job that began turning the wheels faster for his mental-health outreach goal.
Nurturing job
He had planned to work in a dental office last off-season, but saw an opening for a therapeutic case manager. He was initially supposed to work at a school, but got switched to a nursing home.
“It was trying to teach them coping skills and being an ear at the same time and a helpful hand whenever it was needed,” he said.
He really clicked with one resident.
The woman enjoyed music, and Clements would bring his laptop to their visits.
“She was always fascinated with computers and YouTube. She was just fascinated that I was able to reach any song, any genre,” he said with a chuckle.
“I would throw on some music and call it like music therapy. We would just talk, and I’d maybe teach her some breathing techniques.
“She would tell me songs that she had her first dance to or songs that she played at her wedding and stuff like that. It brought up good memories and got her into an uplifted spirit.”
Clements and his girlfriend moved to Columbus before he returned to Winnipeg for training camp in May.
His season began as a starting linebacker, but the 6-foot, 216-pounder missed six games in the middle of the schedule because of a hip injury.
The Bombers ended the regular season with a 14-4 record. Clements played 12 games, finishing with 23 defensive tackles, six special-teams tackles, three quarterback sacks and one forced fumble.
The team won the West Division final against the B.C. Lions, earning the right to play in the Grey Cup against the Montreal Alouettes, who upset Toronto in the East final.
Clements’ girlfriend, mom and step-dad attended the game in Hamilton, their first trip to the league championship. They enjoyed the experience, other than the outcome.
The Bombers held a 17-7 halftime lead over the Alouettes, buoyed by a late second-quarter goal-line stand by Winnipeg’s defense.
Clements was in on the plays that halted Montreal’s offense, forcing a turnover on downs with eight seconds remaining until the break.
But the underdogs from Quebec clawed their way back in the second half, clinching an upset in a late drive.
Alouettes quarterback Cody Fajardo connected with receiver Tyson Philpot for a 19-yard touchdown grab in the end zone with 13 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Clements has put the loss in perspective.
“After a while, it’s life. You can’t win them all,” he said. “For me, I always look at it as a lesson rather than a loss. I always like to say, ‘An L is a lesson, not a loss’ because you learn from it.
“Looking back at it and after watching the film and doing a deep dive of the game, I learned from it. I’m able to better myself and get equipped for next year, so if I get to that stage again I can do whatever I can to make sure it has a different outcome.”
Clements was one of 22 CFL players this past season with Virginia ties, either being born or attending college or university in the state.
His teammates included starting defensive tackle Ricky Walker (Newport News, Virginia Tech). Defensive end TyJuan Garbutt (Fredericksburg, Virginia Tech) joined Winnipeg’s practice roster in the summer and got into the final regular-season game.
Alouettes starting running back William Stanback (Hempstead, NewYork, Virginia Union) was playing in his fifth season with Montreal. He rushed nine times for 68 yards and one touchdown to claim his first Grey Cup victory.
William Stanback, No. 31, who attended Virginia Union University, celebrates with the Grey Cup during a parade in Montreal following his team’s win. Photo courtesy of Montreal Alouettes. 
William Stanback, No. 31, who attended Virginia Union University, celebrates during a parade in Montreal following his team’s win. Photo courtesy of Montreal Alouettes.
Winnipeg has 36 players who are pending free agents in February, including Clements. He’d like to re-sign after feeling more comfortable on the field, and especially in the locker room.
“I want to be back in that type of culture,” he said. “That culture is different in Winnipeg, it’s like a family.”
His off-season plans including training, possibly a job in case management in Columbus and trying to move his Danville outreach program forward with partners and supporters that include family members.
“You have to have tough skin to grow up in Danville, and a tough mental [approach],” Clements said.
“Not many people, especially in sports, get to the professional level. So I feel like whenever I go home, a lot of the younger generation kind of gravitate towards me anyway, just based on like, ‘Wow, you ended up really making it out. You weren’t just another statistic.’
“I feel like God blessed me with a talent, so it was only right to pay it forward and give back.”
