Eddy Wilson, a senior and a varsity cheer captain at Angleton High School, wishes his school would have done more to protect him against the online hate he received after being crowned homecoming king.

The school shared a photograph of Wilson and the homecoming queen on Facebook last week. Officials took the post down after several people made hateful comments about his appearance. Now, Wilson feels like his accomplishment was overshadowed by the hate received under the post.

“I could see why (school officials) thought it was going to solve the problem. But it doesn’t solve anything. It just lets the people who said the nastiest things almost get away with it,” he told ABC13. “Why do so many adults that don’t know me, (apart) from a can of paint, have such a strong, hateful opinion about me?”

The school district is standing by the high school’s decision to delete the Facebook post.

“AISD chose to take down the social media post announcing the homecoming king and homecoming queen due to some of the comments that were considered not to be within the scope that the post intended,” an Angleton ISD spokesperson told the news outlet.

Wilson says he has been harassed throughout his life for liking to wear makeup, dressing up and getting his hair done.

“My cheer locker was vandalized throughout sophomore and junior year. I am a male, so I’m in the boys’ locker room with baseball, soccer, and basketball players. One time, someone took my cheer uniform, rubbed it in dirt, and hung it up on my locker,” he said. “Honestly, it’s bothered me.”

Wilson moved to Angleton from The Woodlands during his first year and was touched when his peers voted him to be homecoming king. After the post was taken down, he received support from friends, family and community members with the hashtag #TeamEddy.

“I feel super, super grateful for everyone’s support. It’s more than I ever expected,” he said.

Wilson added that it was important for him to speak out in order to empower others to be themselves.

“I don’t do well with labels. I have the confidence to be me because I’m letting go of all the labels,” Wilson said. “As long as you’re being you and you feel secure and beautiful in who you are, your body, and your skin, that’s all that matters.”

Angleton High SchoolBlavity-UBlavity-U-NewsEddy Wilson