Chestnut caught off guard by fact that Champion signed an anti-hazing pledge

Christopher Chestnut, the attorney representing the parents of deceased FAMU drum major Robert Champion, claims he did his own investigation into what happened to the 26-year old son of his clients. But Chestnut was caught off guard yesterday when reporters asked him questions about the anti-hazing pledge that Champion signed.

A report published by USA TODAY at 9:43 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2012 stated that: "[Chestnut] says he does not know whether Champion signed a pledge not to participate in any hazing activities, but that most students were forced to pledge, with a ‘nod and a wink.’"

The criminal investigation conducted by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office concluded that Champion “willingly participated” in the hazing ritual that took his life on Nov. 19.

Rick Mitchell, an attorney for FAMU, referenced Champion’s anti-hazing pledge in a motion to dismiss the Champion family’s lawsuit against the university. He said that Champion signed a FAMU “Hazing and Harassment Agreement” on August 15, 2011.

“Mr. Robert Champion, Jr. was a 26-year-old grown adult and stood among the FAMU band’s top leaders as one of its Drum Majors,” Mitchell wrote. “Just a few months before his death, Mr. Champion acknowledged in writing that he fully understood the unlawfulness, physical brutality and health dangers of participating in hazing, either as a hazer or a hazee.”

Chestnut finally got up to speed later in the day and acknowledged the fact that Champion signed the anti-hazing pledge.

“Everyone signed that agreement, but they also knew that unless you were hazed, you weren't accepted,” he told ABC News.

Back in January, the Orlando Sentinel reported that: “The parents and Chestnut think his beatings were meant as retaliation. Champion, they said, followed the university's rules that prohibit hazing. He also exemplified how a student could be successful in the band — he was slated to be the head drum major next school year — without submitting to the abuse and humiliation some students endure to become part of such a prestigious group.”