CCCU earns Varsity walkover point after Men’s Basketball receives ban

The University of Kent’s Men’s Basketball Team has received an immediate two-match ban following a disciplinary meeting on Monday 11 February.

The men’s Varsity fixture, which was set to take place on Saturday 17 February, has now been cancelled, with CCCU receiving a walkover point.

According to the Union, the ban was due to “serious complaints that Kent Union has received since November from multiple sources including England Basketball, Kent Sport, and other students’ unions relating to the behavior of some club members.” The Club can appeal the ban if they decide to.

Eman Madek, the coach of UKC’s Men’s Basketball, in an email sent to Kent Union, said: “I strongly suspect Kent Union is making a grave error in their decision to punish the whole team on account of a few individuals behaviour."

Mr Madek claimed further that the “appropriate punishments had been administered” and asked “What message are you sending to the innocent members who happen to be the vast majority?”.

The Union did not release details of the offenses, but said the members’ behavior was neither in keeping with the “standards expected by Kent Union and the University of Kent, nor with the varsity values of pride, passion, friendship, and celebration”.

In his email response, Mr Madek claimed that there are “sensitivities involved with particularly basketball in this country”, alleging that “Basketball is the most diverse participant sport, by a long way, and one of the most popular sports, and yet it always gets maligned”.

Mr Madek continued: “Our team is mostly composed of ethnic minorities...and we feel tremendously aggrieved by the way we’ve been treated. We thought Kent student union would represent us in this matter and uphold justice on our behalf. I implore you to re-evaluate the nuances of such a profound injustice before it’s too late.”

In their statement, Kent Union said: “It is a privilege to compete for the University and in Varsity,” but the players in question “brought the reputation of the Club, Kent Union, and the University of Kent into disrepute. The decision has not been taken lightly."

Though the Union has not released details, InQuire has acquired documents regarding the incidents in question and held an interview with the coach; follow this story on our website to learn more about the events discussed in the disciplinary meeting.