Cheerleader boy says Texas school kicked him off team for gay kiss
A 17-year-old male cheerleader says he was kicked off his school’s team for kissing a boy.
The student at Alice High School in southern Texas, who wishes to remain anonymous, says the kiss was caught on school surveillance cameras.
He told local station KPLC that school officials sacked him from the team because it was a gay kiss and he was also suspended from lessons for two days.
The boy said: “They never check cameras for anything unless something is stolen. We would be the ones getting caught because I’m sure we were the only ones, sexual orientation wise, being caught like that.
“In this school kissing is everywhere, if that were the case, suspending everyone for that, half the school would be suspended.”
Other parents said cheerleaders who had become pregnant or had babies were allowed to remain on the team, despite a cheerleading code which says participants must adhere to a “higher standard of conduct” than other students.
Alice High School officials said in a statement that the sanctions had nothing to do with homophobia, although they refused to explain further, citing privacy issues.
The statement also claimed that the boy’s parents were “in agreement” with school officials.
However, the student says his parents do not agree with the decision but have given up arguing with the school.
