Mr. [ Robert] Champion, a hard-working clarinet player, tried out twice before being selected as one of six drum majors in the spring of 2010. He died just hours after marching on the field at the Florida Classic, a football game between Florida A&M and its longtime rival, Bethune-Cookman University.<\/p>\n
He collapsed in a bus parked at an Orlando hotel, where the band was staying. It was evening, and the buses should have been locked, Dr. White said. After interviewing band members, he said, it appeared that Mr. Champion had been punched repeatedly by a small group of band members on the bus as part of a hazing ritual, then vomited and passed out. When others in the bus could not revive him, they called for an ambulance. He died a short time later at a hospital….<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s kind of a \u201d\u02dcdon\u2019t ask, don\u2019t tell\u2019 culture,\u201d\u009d said Christopher M. Chestnut, the family\u2019s lawyer. \u201cNo one\u2019s shocked. Everyone knew it happened.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n