Matthews-Mint Hill - Carolina Weekly Newspapers

CommunityLeMay leaves Butler, won’t play in 2010Christian LeMayby C. Jemal Hortonjemal@matthewsminthillweekly.comSuspended Butler star quarterbackChristian LeMay has withdrawn fromthe school and will not play high schoolfootball this fall, his family said in astatement.The LeMay family would not disclosewhere he will attend school this fallbefore graduating andattending college inJanuary at the Universityof Georgia, wherehe has accepted anathletic scholarship.In June, LeMayreceived a 40-day suspensionfrom Butler forviolating a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools code of conductrule, which his father, Stacy, said was“a youthful infraction.” LeMay’s familyappealed the decision, but it was upheldin late July. Stacy LeMay said his son wasgiven the option of attending an alternativeschool and “possibly” returning toButler after serving his suspension.It was an option the family declined,Stacy LeMay said, because it wouldn’tallow his son to play football untilNovember and the alternative schooldoesn’t provide the classes his son needsto graduate early and enroll in college inJanuary.“Given the unwillingness of CMS toapply a more reasonable consequencefor such a youthful infraction, as dishearteningas it is, we must make thedecision to move on and focus Christian’sattention on preparing for enrollmentat the University of Georgia,” thestatement read.LeMay remains one of the top-ratedhigh school seniors in the nation. Lastseason, he helped Butler win the Class4AA state championship. qOfficial statement fromthe LeMay familyWe first want to thank all of those whohave supported our family during this time.The e-mails, letters, texts and words of encouragementhave been life-fueling from supportersof Christian, both locally and nationwide.We specifically want to thank (University ofGeorgia incoming) recruits Christian Conleyand Ray Drew for standing with our son andcontacting him daily; Panthers receiver KennyMoore and quarterback training coach SteveCalhoun for working him out over the summer;(and) Sporting News and all the otherrecruiting networks that maintained Christian’snational ranking on their boards.As a result of Christian’s youthful infraction(that does not involve drugs, weapons orany form of violence), Charlotte-MecklenburgSchools imposed a severe punishment onour son in which we appealed to their highestform of due process. On July 26, the CMSboard maintained the merciless ruling of a40-day reassignment to an alternative school“to possibly be reviewed in 30 days” – whichis an addition to a four-day suspension alreadyserved. The ruling also states that after completingthe reassignment days, he could “possibly”return to Butler, meaning it is “possible”that he could not return to Butler.Adhering to such a severe ruling wouldnot only prevent Christian from playing untilNovember due to the 10-day conditioning rule(if he returned to Butler HS), it would also hinderhim academically, as the alternative schooldoes not provide the required classes neededfor him to finish in the fall of 2010 and moveon to the University of Georgia in January.Given the unwillingness of CMS to applya more reasonable consequence for such ayouthful infraction, as disheartening as it is,we must make the decision to move on andfocus Christian’s attention on preparing forenrollment at the University of Georgia inJanuary.Although rumors suggest that Christianwould likely transfer to one of the excellent(high school) programs such as Byrnes (SouthCarolina), (Rock Hill) South Point, GreensboroDudley and even Victory Christian Center,Christian could not imagine playing hissenior season at any place other than with hisbrother, Uriah, and his teammates at ButlerHigh School.Therefore, having come to resolve thatfollowing the CMS consequence would notaccomplish “student achievement” for Christian,we – as a family – have concluded thathe will forgo his senior football season andfocus on his preparation to attend the Universityof Georgia.We are quite honored that other collegescontinue to show strong interest in Christianattending their schools. However, we havecontinued healthy communications with UGAcoaches, and the commitment remains thesame on both ends.Christian will now prepare himself for thenext season of his life as he takes this time tobecome stronger spiritually, academically andphysically. With the help of fitness trainer AndyHendel of Cross fit Charlotte and quarterbackcoach Steve Calhoun of Armed and Dangerous,Christian will certainly be prepared to arrive inGeorgia this spring ready to compete. We arefully confident that his best days are still yet tocome. GO BULLDOGS!!!– The LeMay FamilyWhat are YOU doing Labor Day weekend?Rides And games! Family Fun! live music!Great Food! huge Carnival area! Arts& Crafts! Kids Connection! & MUCH MORE!September 3rd - 6th, 2010!Come join in the fun for the 18th annual Matthews Alive!Labor Day festival in historic downtown Matthews, NC!Find out more at:www.matthewsalive.orgThanks to our sponsors!Good times funding good works!Friday, Sept. 3rd: 6:30 PM - 10:30 PMFeaturing: Jim Quick & Coastline ANDBilly Scott & The Prophets!All You Can Ride Arm Band night!Saturday, Sept. 4th: 9 AM - 9 PMLabor Day Parade: 10 AMSunday, Sept. 5th: 12:00 PM – 9:00 PMMonday, Sept. 6th: 9 AM - 5 PMKiwanis Race: 8AM18 years | Historic Downtown Matthews, NC 28105www.matthewsminthillweekly.comMatthews-Mint Hill Weekly • Aug. 20-26, 2010 • Page 3