Evan Young, who intended to use some of his time on the podium to announce his sexual orientation, was stripped of his role as class valedictorian just moments before he was due to speak to gathered classmates and faculty.
Justifying the decision, an attorney for the school insisted that the speech was not an appropriate time for such an announcement and went on to say that the graduation speech was not the time to 'push his [Evan's] agenda on a captive audience."
Despite denying Evan the chance to come out in his own time in his own words, the Colorado high school chose to reveal Evan's news to his parents in a bid to rectify the situation.
Commenting on the school's handling of the matter, 18-year-old Evan said: "My parents are very liberal. I think they were totally OK with it. But I was not okay with it. I think what it mainly showed is that he didn't have a lot of sympathy for me, or someone in my position."
Insisting that the school failed to see the motivation behind his intended announcement, Evan said: "He didn't understand how personal a thing it was, and that I wasn't just going to share it with people randomly, for no reason."
The speech, which Evan initially edited to appease school officials but which ultimately wasn't used, was later given in its full unedited version by the teenager at a local LGBT event.
