News
2005-10-20
Straight male
cheerleader quits after being labeled "gay"
After Platte
Valley High School student Cole Graves made the cheerleading
squad at his school, he was labeled a "fag" and
After Platte
Valley High School student Cole Graves made the cheerleading
squad at his school, he was labeled a "fag" and taunted
and teased by fellow classmates. The taunts became so
unbearable that the 17-year-old junior now says he is
quitting the squad. “I didn't want to stop, but
this is just too much,” Graves told TheDenver Post.
People began
calling Graves names from the first day of school, he said.
But what prompted him to give up was a posting on the
Kersey, Colo., school's Web site of the
cheerleading squad's picture with the caption
“I'M GAY” under the photo of Graves and
another male cheerleader. It was posted October 7 and
was taken down October 17 after it was discovered
by school officials, Graves said. “It didn't
bother me until it was posted on the Internet,”
Graves said. “That's when things got
bad.”
He and his
parents met with school administrators on Tuesday. The
school will issue apologies to Graves and suspend the
student responsible for the posting for one week,
Graves said. Meanwhile, Graves will concentrate on
sports like wrestling. “Everybody called me a fag,
but I'm not gay,” Graves said. “I'm just
a regular guy.” (Advocate.com)
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