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Parents of late FAMU drum major Robert Champion reflect on his death
Friday marked the tenth anniversary of the death of FAMU drum major Robert Champion as a result of hazing. It happened after the Florida Classic football game in Orlando. His parents are now opening up about their loss and a mission to stop violent hazing.
LAKE MARY, Fla. - It has been ten years since the death of Florida A&M University (FAMU) drum major Robert Champion Jr. as a result of hazing. It happened following the Florida Classic football game in Orlando.
His parents are now opening up about their loss as they continue their mission to stop violent hazing.
"With us, it seems like it was yesterday," said Robert's mother, Pam Champion.
But it was a decade ago that Pam and her husband, Robert Sr., lost their son and their pain is still real and raw.
"For 10 years, I've lived in the horror of what happened to my son," said Pam. "There is no healing. You just learn to try to deal with each day, each hour, at a time."
On November 19, 2011, Robert Champion was beaten by fellow band members on board a bus as part of a hazing ritual.
"My son was not hazed," Pam explained. "He was beaten to death by a busload of not only band members but alumni as well."
"When it's a member of your family it's hard to get over when someone took his life in their hands. I always wonder what he would be doing today," said Robert Sr.
Four people were convicted of manslaughter but three were only given probation.
Parents of Robert Champion Jr. Pam Champion, mother, 2nd right, and Robert Champion, father, right, listen as the verdict is read Friday, Oct. 31, 2014 after a jury found Dante Martin, a former member of Florida A&M University's Marching 100 …
Former FAMU percussionist Caleb Jackson, left, confers with his attorney Chuck Hobbs, Tuesday, April 16, 2013 after Jackson pleaded 'no contest' to Judge Marc Lubet, far right, in the fatal hazing of drum major Robert Champion. (Red Huber/Orlando Sen …
Shawn Turner, standing, Florida A&M University marching band drum major, enters in an Orange County courtroom Thursday, June 14, 2012. Turner was appointed a public defender in the hazing death of drum major Robert Champion. (Pool photo by …
Dante Martin, right, a former member of Florida A&M University's Marching 100 band, looks at his family as he is fingerprinted Friday, Oct. 31,2014 after being found guilty of manslaughter in the fatal hazing of drum major Robert Champion. Ma …
"Do we feel like we got justice? Absolutely not," Pam said.
"These guys got 10 years probation and they got to walk out of the courtroom, but my son, we'll never see him again. He'll never get to fulfill his life dreams," Robert Sr. added.
They often think about what Robert Jr. would be doing now, at the age of 36 years.
"We know what his love was and his love was for music," Pam told us.
"I believe he would be teaching music," Robert Sr. said.
They started the Robert D. Champion Drum Major for Change Foundation to bring awareness to the violence happening in educational institutions.
"We can't call it hazing. When we use that term ‘hazing,’ it makes it ok for a busload of people to beat, stomp, kick…a person to death," said Pam. "You can't call that hazing."
As they fight for change, they also cherish all of the precious memories they have of their "kind and gentle" son who wanted to share his love of music with the world.
"When I close my eyes and I think about this little boy who saw his first parade, he was spellbound by the marching band but mostly very compelled by and excited about the drum major," Pam told us. "I know from then on, Robert had that love for music. "
The Champions are hosting "Champions Against Violence Weekend" which includes a series of virtual discussions on "Masculinity and Violence," held on Saturday, Nov. 20. Read more about this event on the Clubhouse app.
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