Well, the word is finally out. The death of Florida A&M University drum major Robert Champion may have been a hate crime due to his sexual orientation. Those who didn't know Champion but followed the Twitter timeline shortly after his death, saw the comments about Champion being targeted because he was gay.
Champion's parents don't feel their son was targeted because he was gay because many others were aware of his sexual orientation. Time will tell as the investigation takes it course but this new layer may explain why we have yet to hear of any arrests in this case.
I would like to think we have arrived at a point where sexual orientation is not an issue but the truth is, we are not there yet. And, for a prestigious position such as Marching 100 Head Drum Major, a homosexual male would be a problem for many people, let's be honest. No matter how tolerant many people have become, a masculine lesbian would be more accepting than a gay male. Such is the nature of our culture today.
We are seeing some things fall in place such as the bus company, Fabulous Coach Lines, being sued for negligence. The sequence of events and access to the bus have been nagging questions from Day One. Who knows what else is to come because of this incident. Let's just chill and be prepared for whatever.
Regardless of the Champion family's assertion that Robert was not killed because he was gay but because he opposed hazing, his sexual orientation disclosure has taken a life of it's own with expected outrage from the gay community and their supporters. Stay tuned.
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