Written by Amy O’Donoghue, Shreya Gupta, and Emerson Lam
Illustrated by Sylvain Chan
Both the LSESU Athletics Union President and the Men’s Rugby Club have been suspended for the remainder of the 25/26 academic year, as confirmed by a statement published by LSESU on the 20th March. The suspension follows an investigation by the SU. This investigation concerned an incident at the Three Tuns, where a complaint was made that rugby team members were wearing shirts that had discriminatory language on them. The AU President was also present at this gathering, leading to his suspension, although he has stated to The Beaver that he attended this event in a ‘personal capacity’ and was not an ‘active participant’.
Multiple verified sources told The Beaver that the suspension was related to an incident that took place at the Three Tuns, where a complaint was made by an onlooker that rugby team members were wearing shirts that had ‘discriminatory language’ on them. A different confidential source told The Beaver that these were being worn by social members of the team, who do not compete in Varsity. This source told The Beaver that the rugby team wanted to solve the problem by cutting social members, but that this was not sufficient for the SU.
The president of the Men’s Rugby Club stepped down from his position after the incident, preceding the SU investigation regarding the club. The outcome of this investigation showed that the club violated the SU Code of Conduct and “presented serious risks to student wellbeing and safety”. The subsequent suspension involves both sporting and social activities, meaning the club cannot compete in Varsity for the rest of the academic year, nor host social events.
When the former AU President was questioned about his involvement with this incident, he stated: “To clarify, I attended the event in a personal capacity and was not involved in its organisation. The SU has recognised that I was not an active participant and intervened. Unfortunately, I can’t comment further due to SU policies around confidentiality.”
Regarding the future of the rugby team, a member of the Men’s Rugby team told The Beaver that the club held an internal meeting with its members, and stated that due to ‘repeated social misconduct’, the rugby team would no longer be operating as a club for the time being. No further details were given to the members on the situation for the next academic year.
He also gave his view that it was “unfair that the SU has punished the entire team, even those who genuinely love rugby like myself and have paid a hefty fee of £140 for the year, but haven’t participated in these incidents. It’s understandable that Varsity has been suspended, but stopping the club’s ability to participate in matches and training makes it difficult for those who were simply a part of the club for the sport.”
The SU has confirmed that they will be in touch with members regarding a partial refund for the activity missed.
When asked for comment, the Athletics Union told The Beaver: “Sadly, we have been kept in the dark on this matter by the SU, so we are unable to provide any information other than what has already been publicly stated. What we can say is that we fully respect the SU’s decision. We believe all clubs have a responsibility to operate in line with the rules and regulations set out for them, and where that does not happen, it is right that action is taken. As an Athletics Union, we are one community. Any form of misconduct that has the potential to exclude members or undermine the inclusive environment we strive to build is something we cannot and do not support.”
The LSESU Men’s Rugby Club gave the following statement: ‘We wholeheartedly condemn the conduct of the few individuals involved in the incident, which is wholly unrepresentative of our values and the wider club. Those known to be responsible were internally sanctioned, and additional training and governance measures have been implemented. We have accepted all disciplinary outcomes imposed by LSESU in full and without challenge. Inclusivity, respect, and representation are central to what we stand for. We are committed to ensuring our club reflects those values in everything we do.’
