MIAMI – The family of a Florida A&M University drum major who died in what authorities suspect was a hazing incident will sue the school, an attorney said Friday.
The family of Robert Champion, 26, spent the holiday weekend planning Champion’s funeral, attorney Christopher Chestnut said.
The Atlanta resident was found on a bus parked outside an Orlando hotel the night of November 19 after the school’s football team lost to rival Bethune-Cookman. Police said Champion, a clarinet player who recently was named drum major, had been vomiting and complained he couldn’t breathe shortly before he collapsed.
The cause of Champion’s death hasn’t been determined. Preliminary autopsy results were inconclusive, and a spokeswoman with the Orange County medical examiner’s office said it could take up to three months to learn exactly what killed him.
Law enforcement officials have said they believe some form of hazing took place before 911 was called. Chestnut said he also believes the injuries Champion sustained were consistent with hazing.
A spokesman for the school, which was closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, could not be reached for comment Friday.
In Florida, any death involving hazing is a third-degree felony.
