Parents say Florida hazing victim Robert Champion was gay (Black student died, no media outcry)

UPI ^ | 1/10/12

[Recovering_Democrat]

Law enforcement officials investigating the beating death of a Florida A&M drum major may have to decide if it was hazing or possibly a hate crime.

Twenty-six-year-old Robert Champion was found unresponsive on the team bus in November after the Florida Classic football game in Orlando and later died. Police ruled the death a homicide.

Champion's parents Tuesday said while they don't think Champion was beaten just because of his sexual orientation they plan to sue Florida A&M, which their lawyer, Christopher Chestnut, said "has a 50-year history, a culture in this band, of hazing," WTVT-TV, Tampa,Fla., reported Tuesday.

"This is not a hate crime. This is a hazing crime. That is what we're here to say," Chestnut told a news conference.

[Recovering_Democrat]

I can guaran damn tee you if Mr. Champion were the victim of white punks, the media would be SCREAMING homophobia AND racism, REGARDLESS of what the victim's relatives' lawyer says.

I guess if black students kill a fellow black student who happens to be gay, the media doesn't care.

[tbpiper]

also plan to file a lawsuit against the owner of the team bus

Mining for money.

[nuconvert]

Sad case.

As an aside..... Isn’t twenty-six a little old to be a college drum major?

[Recovering_Democrat]

True, I wonder if he was a grad student.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

Its a shame this has to turn political. If the kid was killed for any reason, the murderers should be locked up and the key thrown away. Whether or not the victim was black or gay.

[Joe Boucher]

This hazing crap had been going on at FAMU and their marching band for quite some time.
A little lip service had been paid in the recent past as others in the band had taken abuse and complained.
Guess the Band leader as well as the administration were about as lame as they were at Penn. State.

[yldstrk]

No, it is not that the media doesn’t “care” per se. The media knows the unwritten rule that it is not to point out bad behavior on the part of minorities.

[Recovering_Democrat]

I agree. If the media wouldn’t be so two faced about this, focusing on the human tragedy would be easier.

[Pollster1]

I don’t see the legal relevance of his being gay. When a person is beaten to death, sexual orientation is not or at least should not be relevant - murder/manslaughter is or ought to be the key issue. As for the lawsuit, I’m always amazed at that reaction.

“Mrs. Champion, your son is dead.”

“Cool, can I sue someone over his death and make lots of money?”

Disgusting.

[Pearls Before Swine]

The whole episode is very sad.

Maybe he was gay, and maybe he wasn’t — I don’t know and I don’t really care.

I did notice that he was 26 years old, though. Isn’t that getting on in years to be an undergraduate? I wonder if he was odd in other ways, and if that made him stand out as a target.

[calex59]

So if he was gay being beaten to death is a hate crime, otherwise it was a love crime I suppose. Here’s a clue for the morons on the left. If you kill someone, anyone, it is a frickin’ crime and most likely done with hate, or at least without remorse.