TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Florida A&M University says it is delaying action against the school's marching band director or any students while a hazing-related death is investigated.
FAMU President James Ammons had told the Orlando Sentinel previously that band director Julian White was terminated. But officials said Wednesday White had only been notified of the Tallahassee school's intent to fire him Dec. 22, the newspaper reported.
White will be paid while on administrative leave while the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates last month's death of FAMU student Robert Champion, university attorney David Self said.
University officials told the FAMU board of trustees Wednesday once the investigation is complete, decisions will be made whether to take action against White or four students targeted for dismissal because of the alleged hazing.
White's lawyer, Chuck Hobbs, called the school's decision to hold off on dismissing his client a "step in the right direction."
The state Law Enforcement Department had asked the university to refrain from acting while its investigation was under way.
Champion, a 26-year-old drum major, collapsed on a bus outside an Orlando hotel after a football game between FAMU and Bethune-Cookman University. Champion allegedly had been the subject of a hazing ritual aboard a parked band bus.
