FAMU President James Ammons Resigns Following Hazing Death Of Drum Major

Florida A&M President James Ammons Resigns

The fallout continues following last year’s death of a Florida A&M drum major, and this time it’s FAMU’s President who is out of a job.

The president of Florida A&M University has resigned, more than a month after the school’s board of trustees gave him a vote of no confidence in the wake of last year’s hazing death of a school band member, his office said Wednesday.

The president, James Ammons, was given the no-confidence vote June 7 after investigations into the university amid concerns over the November death of drum major Robert Champion.

Ammons’ resignation letter, released by the university, did not mention Champion or the hazing scandal.

“After considerable thought, introspection and conversations with my family, I have decided to resign from my position as president in order to initiate my retirement on October 11, 2012,” Ammons’ letter reads.

Champion, 26, died after the initiation ritual aboard a bus. The Orange County medical examiner said the cause was “hemorrhagic shock due to soft tissue hemorrhage, due to blunt force trauma.”

The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide, prompting a police investigation and renewed public scrutiny of hazing in the university’s famed Marching 100 band, which got its name in 1950 and actually has about 400 members.

Four students were expelled from the school, and another 30 were dismissed from the band soon after Champion’s death.

The police investigation resulted in charges against 14 people. Eleven face one count of third-degree felony hazing resulting in death. Each also is accused of two counts of first-degree misdemeanor hazing.

Last week, the university released a document showing that three days before Champion died, the campus police chief suggested that the band be suspended because of hazing.

SMH. This dude should have stepped down a long time ago. He’s got a lot of nerve not even acknowledging Robert Champion’s death in his letter too. You can’t clean a dirty slate like that Prez.

R.I.P. Robert Champion

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