Chiefs’ Frank Clark says he’s a new man after giving up booze. How about the guns, too?

I want to believe Frank Clark when the Kansas City Chiefs’ mercurial Pro Bowl defensive end says he has a new outlook on life. He should. Escaping jail time for not one but two serious gun charges is a blessing.

But in Missouri, talk is cheap. It’s called the Show-Me State for a reason. If Clark is really sincere and has learned from the legal troubles, he needs to hit the ground running to make amends.

And no, I am not talking about some canned apology to teammates and coaches. I’m cool on half-baked public apologies, too.

As part of Clark’s recent no-contest plea to two counts of misdemeanor possession of an assault weapon, the Chiefs player must commit to 40 hours of community service during the year of unsupervised probation he was sentenced to. Clark should use that required time to get in front of as many at-risk youths as possible. Sure, free football camps are a promising start, but we have a gun violence issue in Kansas City that must be addressed.

And Clark could help by taking some sort of public stance against violent crime.

Through Monday, 58 of the 118 people killed in Kansas City so far this year were between the ages of 18 and 34, according to Kansas City Police Department crime data. Sixty-nine homicide victims were Black males. Almost half of homicide suspects were determined to be Black males, too, according to Kansas City police.

Clark is 29 and a well-paid, famous athlete. He could inspire a generation of anti-gun violence advocates by producing a series of public service announcements denouncing gun culture.

If Clark really is grateful to avoid jail, he should also consider refraining from owning assault rifles and Uzi submachine guns after his probationary period is over. Nothing good can come out of irresponsible gun use. And it’s fair to say Clark is an irresponsible gun owner.

Twice last year, he was arrested on gun charges. The incidents were months apart and did little to quiet the talk that Clark, a phenomenal player on the field, was a ticking time bomb when away from the friendly confines of Arrowhead Stadium. Considered a first-round talent by football experts, Clark faced serious allegations of domestic violence while in college at Michigan and dropped to the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He was picked by Seattle and enjoyed tremendous success in the Pacific Northwest before being traded to Kansas City in 2019.

This spring, Clark restructured the five-year, $105.5 million contract — $62.3 million was guaranteed — he signed with Kansas City after the trade. Clark is still a top-rate defender. Helping kids avoid gun crimes would make him a top-tier mentor.

“Like I said before, you make a mistake, it’s about how you stand up and be a stand-up guy about it — not about the if, ands or buts about it. It’s about you being a stand-up guy and making it right, and that’s what I did,” Clark told reporters last week. “Let the system play out how it’s gonna play out, like I always said, and it played out in my favor, thank God. Just thankful to be moving forward now.”

Clark could still be fined or suspended under the NFL’s personal conduct policy. Next spring, he is due back in a Los Angeles court to prove that he completed court-ordered community service.

To better prepare for this season, Clark dropped weight and gave up alcohol. What better way to show a California judge he’s committed to change than by dropping from his repertoire the high-powered artillery that led to his legal problems in the first place?