Last weekend, the Wesleyan Old Methodist Rugby Football Club participated in the largest collegiate rugby tournament in the country. Despite being the only team in the tournament without a coach, let alone matching uniforms, Wes outscored its opponents 137-0 to reach the finals of the tournament. Playing against URI (a school ten times the size of Wesleyan) in the finals, Wesleyan ran out of time as the team lost 17-13.
Naturally, the team was extremely proud of this second place finish in such a prestigious tournament. I know I was really excited to get some press in the Argus for our unheralded group of athletes. Then the April 23 issue of the Argus came out, and I was disgusted by what I read.
Before I continue, I want to preface the fact that I know that working for the Argus is extremely time-consuming, stressful and under-appreciated here at Wesleyan. The Argus is a great paper, and I know a ton of time and effort goes into creating a bi-weekly student newspaper that we can all enjoy. However, the article that was written about men’s rugby was appalling, and it required a response.
Nyasha Foy’s article went from poorly written to downright insulting. The confusion of facts and grammatical mistakes are understandable given the rush of information thrown at Nyasha and the pressure of a deadline. But, when I turned to the inside portion of the article and saw the headline, “URI CREAMS MEN’S RUGBY” I almost lost it.
First of all, it’s inaccurate. We lost by four points in the championship game! Second, this is supposed to be the WESLEYAN newspaper! Where is the support? Why is there no mention of the fact that we placed second? Why be disparaging to a team that had just played some of the best rugby this school has ever seen? I just don’t get it.
The article also included some other journalistic gems. For instance, the team outscored its opponents by 137-0 “and won three of four.” How exactly does that work? This was a single elimination tournament, and we had to win all four games to reach the championship. Another favorite, “The ruggers were satisfied with their results, but wanted to go further in the tournament.” Again, how do you go further than the championship game?
I am not trying to be insulting, but I could not just sit back and take this. I know that sports and school spirit are not the highest priority at this school, but give us some credit when it is due. We accomplished something special this season despite a lack of support from the administration. The last thing I expected was to have to write something like this in response to a lack of journalistic integrity displayed by the Argus’ sports editors.
Oh, by the way, Men’s Rugby CREAMED Trinity 29-9 on Saturday to finish the season with an 8-2 record (3-0 NESCAC). Great season Old Methodist!
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