In this Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011 file photo, Robert Champion, a drum major in Florida A&M University's Marching 100 band, performs during halftime of a football game in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/The Tampa Tribune, Joseph Brown III, File)
ATLANTA (AP) — The parents of a Florida A&M drum major who died during a hazing ritual say the school’s response to their lawsuit shows officials are not taking responsibility for the safety of students.
Pam and Robert Champion Sr. said Thursday at a news conference in Atlanta that they were disappointed by court documents filed Monday by FAMU. The university is asking a judge to toss the lawsuit, saying the school is not to blame for the 26-year-old’s death.
Chris Chestnut, the lawyer representing the Champions, says the lawsuit is not about Robert Champion, but the safety of students.
Robert Champion died in November after he was beaten by fellow members of the famed Marching 100 band aboard a charter bus parked outside an Orlando hotel. The school says Champion should have refused to take part in the hazing ritual.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
