MONESSEN (KDKA) — There are two contentious sides to an unusual case in Westmoreland County.

Supporters of former Monessen High School quarterback Chavas Rawlins urged the school board to reverse a controversial decision.

However, on Tuesday night, the school board stood by an earlier vote that the football standout will not walk with his senior class at graduation.

Rawlins completed his high school curriculum early after he was recruited by West Virginia University. He started college courses this week in Morgantown.

School Board President Sharon Mauck says Rawlins was not denied commencement rights because of comments he made on social media sites.

It had been reported that he was banded from graduation for comments he made on Facebook and Twitter supporting teammates expelled after an alleged incident involving drugs and guns.

But Mauck says Rawlins asked the school board to leave early and that she told him “if we do allow that to happen, one of the conditions would be that once he graduated he would be done with his high school experience, even the senior activities, including walking at commencement. With his football coach by his side, Rawlins said, ‘Yes.’ He understood and accepted that.”

“This is a big opportunity,” Rawlins’ mother Lauri Sutovich said. “Why would he not take it? It’s his right to walk and he will walk. Some way, somehow he will walk.”

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Student Allegedly Banned From Graduation For Comments On Social Media (1/10/13)
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