Robert Champion Jr.
FAMU marching band member Robert Champion became ill and died after a game on November 19, 2011. Police say it was a direct result of constant hazing.
New evidence has emerged in the beating death of FAMU Drummer Robert Champion, 26, as prosecutors have released new documents detailing how the drum major was killed.
Champion was viciously beaten with metal drumsticks and brass drum mallets during a hazing incident that eventually claimed his life on Nov 11, 2011.
According to
The Orlando Sentinel, federal prosecutors used a probable cause affidavit to issue warrants for the arrest of 11 other FAMU band members that are accused of participating in the hazing ritual that eventually claimed Champion’s life.
Champion was on his way to becoming the lead drummer in the Florida A&M marching 100 band, but was pummeled to death in his band’s bus as it was parked outside of the Rosen Plaza Hotel
Witnesses are telling investigators that Champion and two other band members were hit with “straps, hands, sticks, and a big orange traffic cone."
Suspended band director Dr. Julian White said that in the initiation ritual:
"They make you run from the front of the bus to the back of the bus and, and when they do that they, uh, hit you, kick you..."
Drum major Rikki Wills claims he helped Champion make it through the ritual:
'I’m Robert’s roommate so I decided I Was going to help him so I pushed him through, and when we got to the end, Robert said, Oh my God I’m having trouble breathing...And then he passed out."
Band member Darryl Cearnerl attempted to resuscitate him by doing mouth-to-mouth and chest compressions. As he was trying to revive him, Champion began vomiting soon after the paramedics arrived.
The medical examiner concluded Champion died of hemorrhagic shock cause by blunt force trauma. There was no evidence of drugs and alcohol in Champion’s body.
His family plans to hold a press conference today in Atlanta to respond to documents released relating to their son’s death.
The hazing ritual involves band members receiving a “hot seat” and getting into a “crash position.” They are told to cover their face with their forearms and torsos to protect sensitive areas. They are covered with a blanket and beaten until a senior band member orders the beatings to cease.
These beatings can last 3 or 4 minutes and are required before the student is deemed worthy of becoming a member of the band.
Band Member Lissete Sanchez claims she was hazed as well. She told investigators that she asked the band members not to hit her in her kidneys because she had kidney issues. She was briefly unconscious after she made it to the back of the bus.
"I couldn’t do nothing, I just had to lay there until everybody got off the bus."
These beatings are cruel and senseless, and must stop. Our hearts and prayers go out to Robert Champion’s family, and to those who have been victimized by these hazing rituals.
