Julian White, director of embattled FAMU marching band, retires

[The Northerner]

Source: CBS & AP

(CBS/AP) TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Julian White, the director of Florida A&M University's marching band announced his retirement on Thursday in a statement from his attorney.

While the statement made no mention of the controversy surrounding the band, the famed Marching 100 has been under intense scrutiny since the death of drum major Robert Champion in November 2011. Eleven FAMU band members currently face felony hazing charges in the death, and two others face misdemeanor charges.

White, 71, was briefly suspended from his position following Champion's death, but returned to it in early December.

Champion died aboard a bus outside an Orlando hotel following a FAMU football game. His death led to revelations about a culture of hazing within the band. The band and White were suspended after Champion's death. White was reinstated about two weeks later, but the band's future is still uncertain.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57432045-504083/julian-white-director-of-embattled-famu-marching-band-retires/

[Blue_Tires]

1. oh yeah...."retires" (wink-wink)

If there is an equivalent of the NCAA "Death Penalty For Lack of Institutional Control" for marching bands, FAMU should have gotten it years ago...

[FreeBC]

2. I'm so torn on this.

The death was a tragedy, but the FAMU marching band is awesome.

[frylock]

3. they're fucking assholes that murdered a kid..

i'm not torn in the least. kill. the. program.

[Blue_Tires]

6. Awesome yes, but there is a rotten culture of hazing and jackassery

[24601]

4. Allowing a voluntary retirement was a pure gift. And I'm still waiting for The Rev. Al Sharpton to

show up & speak up like he did in the Zimmerman-Martin case, especially since the violence against Robert Champion was not only premeditated, but involved multiple assailants as opposed to the one-on-one nature of Zimmerman-Martin. It has the appearance of Rev. Sharpton not caring about African American victims unless he can turn it into a race war. Shame on him.

[Archae]

5. He's "retiring," so any lawsuits don't apply to that jerk.