Parents think beating was possible retaliation

BY DEMORRIS A. LEE
SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

Florida A&M drum major Robert Champion’s sexuality may have played a factor in his November homicide, according to fellow band members. The revelation that Champion was gay has led a national gay and lesbian rights organization to call for a federal hate crime investigation into Champion’s killing.

But Champion’s attorney and family told reporters Tuesday that the 26-year-old’s sexuality had nothing to do with who he was a person or why he was killed. Attorney Chris Chestnut said that the Marching 100 has a 50-year history and culture of hazing.

"It’s not a hate crime but a hazing crime," Chestnut said of Champion’s death. "…..Did Robert Champion have an alternative lifestyle? Yes. Did that define him? No."

Champion was beaten to death after the Florida Classic football game on Nov. 19, which pits FAMU against instate rival Bethune-Cookman University. An autopsy concluded that his death was a homicide and that he was beaten so severely that it caused internal bleeding.

‘Crossing Bus C’

Robert Champion Sr., left, speaks at a Tuesday news conference in Orlando about new developments in the killing of his son, Robert Champion, Jr. Attorney Christopher Chestnut, center, and Pam Champion look on. (RED HUBER/ORLANDO SENTINEL/MCT)

During interviews with band members, the family learned that Champion was participating in an alleged band ritual called "Crossing Bus C." The ritual required Champion to walk from the front to the back of the bus while fellow band members beat him. There were at least 30 other band members on the bus and other members were also beaten, an investigation discovered.

On Tuesday, Champion’s parents, Robert and Pam Champion of Georgia, described how their son had urged fellow band members not to give in to the practice – a long-standing problem at FAMU. The parents and Chestnut think his beatings were meant as retaliation.

Champion, they said, followed the university’s rules that prohibit hazing. He also exemplified how a student could be successful in the band – he was slated to be the head drum major next school year – without submitting to the abuse and humiliation some students endure to become part of such a prestigious group.

In addition to notifying FAMU of its intent to sue the university, the Champion family also plans to sue Fabulous Coach Lines, the bus company that provided transportation for the band to Orlando. Ray Land, president of Fabulous Coach Lines, contends that his drivers did nothing wrong.

Another investigation?

Sharon Lettman-Hicks, executive director and chief executive officer of the National Black Justice Coalition, requested Tuesday that that U.S. Department of Justice’s Community Relations Service, the Civil Rights Division, and the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights to an immediate investigation into Champion’s death as a potential anti-gay hate crime.

The National Black Justice Coalition, based in Washington, D.C., is the nation’s largest Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization.

"It’s a systemic problem in the Black community that we don’t address sexual orientation or gender identity issues," Lettman-Hicks told the Florida Courier. "There are a lot of hate crimes in the LGBT community that go unaddressed."

Lettman-Hicks, who attended FAMU, said she has "every belief that the Justice Department will do the right thing."

‘He was murdered’

"The level of violence is shocking; that’s why it’s hard not to believe it’s not a hate crime," Lettman-Hicks said. "He was murdered. He did not get beat up and then died later. He was murdered."

As result of his death, longtime band director Julian White was terminated but then put on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation.

In addition, the university’s Board of Trustees publicly reprimanded President James Ammons for his handling of the situation’s aftermath. Trustees will provide Ammons with his yearly review on Feb. 8 .

In a statement provided to the Courier by Chuck Hobbs, White’s attorney, Hobbs believes that hazing may not be the central issue in Champion’s death.

"Assuming that the assertions of the Champion family and their attorney Christopher Chestnut are true, then it is entirely possible that his tragic death was less about any ritualistic hazing and more tantamount to a hateful and fully conscious attempt to batter a young man because of his sexual orientation," Hobbs said. "As such, the efforts of Dr. White expended to root out and report hazing could not have predicted or prevented such deliberate barbarity."

Immediately following Champion’s death, Hobbs detailed at length the actions that White took during his tenure to stamp out hazing in the band.

Other related events

• In a Jan. 5 editorial, USA Today’s editorial board urged FAMU to replace, rather than ban, hazing. "...(U)niversities need to involve students in seeking productive alternatives to hazing – activities that can build teamwork and challenge students physically and mentally," the editorial said. In a published response, Ammons disagreed: "Our goal is to eliminate this pattern of destructive behavior from our campus."

• Three firms have been shortlisted and one will be selected to provide FAMU with public relations crisis management services: Uniworld Group, Inc., DKC and Melody Services. Uniworld and Melody are both African-American-owned businesses.

Denise-Marie Balona of the Orlando Sentinel (MCT) contributed to this report.