It didn’t take long for the public discussion concerning the death of Marching 100 drum major Robert D. Champion to veer off-track from a focus on uncovering the facts.Since news of Champion's death broke two weeks ago, national newspapers and television broadcasts have provided near-daily updates. The dismissal of former Director of Bands Julian E. White continues to be a major spectacle within the ongoing media circus.
White has maintained that he sought to root out hazing and says his repeated requests for assistance from senior administrators fell on deaf ears.
For example, White claims he sent the president’s office 30 letters dated November 8 and November 10 that detailed his decision to suspend band members who were suspected of hazing. He said the senior administration failed to take strong action to protect the band students after it received that information.
FAMU’s president reiterated late Friday night that he did not receive the letters in question until Tuesday.
"The 30 letters regarding the suspension of members of the band were delivered in bulk Tuesday, Nov. 29. They were time stamped and dated,” FAMU President James H. Ammons has maintained in a written statement.
Right now, the public does not know what actually happened. All it has are dueling stories. The numerous investigations that are in-progress will, hopefully, bring all the facts to light.
Meanwhile, there has been rather shameless political posturing and grandstanding. The Florida Board of Governors (BOG) has initiated a one-sided investigation into White’s allegations that he “received little support” from senior administrators. The Florida Governor’s Office has now jumped in to coordinate with this one-sided probe. Neither the BOG or governor’s office has expressed any interest in investigating Ammons’ claims that White demonstrated a lack of competence in reporting alleged hazing within the band.
It almost looks like the BOG and governor’s office have accepted White’s statements as the “gospel truth.” For goodness sake, there’s another side to the story.
And again, all this is happening before the Orange County Sheriff’s Office has concluded its investigation. The Orange County medical examiner still hasn’t announced a cause of death.
Then came, today, this full-throated cry from St. Petersburg Times Columnist Bill Maxwell: “Gov. Rick Scott and other officials should investigate Ammons' leadership and fire him if he is shown to have acted irresponsibly by condoning cover-ups and ignoring years of evidence and warnings that hazing was routine.”
This is not supposed to be about choosing sides between Ammons and White, especially when the public DOES NOT have all the facts. Calls for one-sided investigations may serve purposes rooted in politics and personal issues, but they do not serve the cause of justice.
Until the detectives and medical examiners release their reports about what actually happened to Champion, the focus should remain on determining his true cause of his death. If it turns out that he died as the result of a criminal offense such as hazing, then the priority should turn to making sure that the responsible parties are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
That is where our focus belongs.