Florida A&M Band Hazing Death: Robert Champion agreed to initiation ritual, bandmates say

By: Crimesider Staff
Topics: Daily Blotter

(CBS/AP) ORLANDO, Fla. - Florida A&M drum major Robert Champion, who died after being hazed on a bus, was known for his opposition to hazing but agreed to go through the initiation ritual because it was seen as an honor, according to bandmates' interviews released on Wednesday.

Pictures: Florida A&M hazing case

Champion asked all season to go through the hazing ritual, known as "crossing over," defendant Jonathan Boyce said.

The 26-year-old died last November after enduring a brutal hazing ritual on a bus outside a hotel in Orlando, where FAMU played against its archrival in football. Prosecutors are releasing more than 15,000 pages of evidence against the 13 people charged in connection to Champion's death. Eleven defendants are charged with third-degree felonies and two are charged with misdemeanors.

Champion's parents said their son was a vocal opponent of the routine hazing of the famed band, which has performed at Super Bowls and presidential inauguration parades. His father, Robert Champion, Sr., said in an interview earlier this year that his son's opposition made him a target.

Drum major Keon Hollis told detectives Champion went through the hazing ritual after him the night Champion died. He said there were at least 15 band members on the bus who performed the ritual.

Champion seemed fine immediately after and Hollis said he gave Champion some water when he said he was thirsty. Champion soon collapsed and later died.

An autopsy report concluded Champion suffered blunt trauma blows to his body and died from shock caused by severe bleeding.

FAMU's "Marching 100" band was suspended shortly after the incident, and officials announced it will remain sidelined through the 2012-2013 school year.

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by Goodnayber May 23, 2012 10:00 PM EDT: I am so very very sorry for the friends and loved ones of the victim here. There are no words to express the true loss. That having been said (and sincerely meant),... the ages of these "band members" are puzzling to me. Is it common for drum majors to be men in their mid-to-late twenties? ...are these graduate students perhaps? (It just seems that these are adult men positioned in bands with "teenagers"... is that the case?); Reply to this comment


by imnho May 23, 2012 6:50 PM EDT: Hazing is a bad idea. Once its started it can take on an unexpected and unwelcome course. It can even develop a feeding frenzy mentality; Reply to this comment


by hypnotoad72 May 23, 2012 6:24 PM EDT: People cornered might say anything.

It's called "coercion".

Rapists would say the same excuse as well.

These animals need to be imprisoned for a number of decades, if not longer.; Reply to this comment


by jsf14 May 23, 2012 5:42 PM EDT: What was Hollis's condition after his beating? Did the people who later killed Champion treat Hollis pretty much the same but just did not happen to injure him fatally?
Right now, how is FAMU addressing the question of why its students agree to be beaten? There's a lot of research and observation on how people commit violence as a group, but how much is there on people who agree to submit to violence?; Reply to this comment

by sdemaggie May 23, 2012 4:35 PM EDT

So it's alright to beat a person death as long as it is concentual? These people beat a person to death-no excuse for this.

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by hypnotoad72 May 23, 2012 6:36 PM EDT: Agreed!


by tpcast May 23, 2012 3:03 PM EDT: Stupid ritual, no one agrees to be beaten to death! Even if you can guarantee an equal force of the punches and kicks to the exact locations on the body that are well protected by muscle or fat you can't guarantee there aren't underlying medical conditions that would still end up being fatal.; Reply to this comment