I will actually spark him out if I see him on a night out

In the screenshots of a group chat seen by Redbrick, one member of the group chat stated ‘I’m going to fuck with the sports captains life.’ In another message, this member of the chat said ‘I will actually spark him out if I see him on a night out’ before describing how he will ‘make sure his pissed. Mug him off so he picks a fight then just chin him.’

It is not known how Price obtained the screenshots of the alleged threats against him.

Price told Redbrick ‘the threats about me were quite worrying and definitely had an impact on my first term.’

‘It was the detail in them that made them seem quite real. I still went to Sports Nights and Fab in first term but I was certainly on edge thinking that something might happen.’

I still went to Sports Nights and Fab in first term but I was certainly on edge

He added later, ‘I know that people will jokingly say “I wanna kill him etc” but the wording made it seem very plausible it could happen.’

The messages followed Price’s decision not to allow UOTCB, who are not a Guild or UBSport group, to apply for tickets to Sports Night this year. He based this decision on ‘the huge demand and past incidents in the group.’

Several members of the chat sent insults about Price, some including homophobic language. One member of the chat wrote, ‘basically he’s a little whammer and if any of you voted for him you’re cucks lol.’

Price told Redbrick that he had been in a meeting with the Guild finance manager when he checked his phone and saw that he had been sent the screenshots. He said, ‘it was quite a shock at first and quite alarming to see such awful language, not just by one person but multiple.’

A former member of UOTCB told Redbrick ‘it’s very laddish and drink centred.’

I never had a bad experience luckily but I think that’s mainly because I quit so early

‘I never had a bad experience luckily but I think that’s mainly because I quit so early and one of the main captains took a shining to me. I got the impression though that certain individuals were/are misogynistic and rude to individuals who don’t share similar values to them.’

In the meeting when UOTCB were told about the Guild’s decision to stop allowing them tickets, Price told Redbrick that there ‘wasn’t really any hostility.’ Following the meeting, however, UOTCB would come to reception to talk to him ‘despite a decision being made.’

When asked if he was worried because they planned to intimidate him, he said that it had crossed his mind but that it was ‘just irritating at the start of the year that I spent so much time dealing with OTC not taking no for an answer, and then obviously the threats, rather than actually working on changing sport here.’

In addition to threats against Price, messages seen by Redbrick also included an apparent account of sexual assault using army equipment.

One member of the group claimed ‘I used [a pace stick] to spank and molest a lass last year’ after another joked that it ‘needs to be bleached.’ A pace stick is a ceremonial instrument and symbol of authority used in military drills.

Price reported the messages to the University but claimed that he was ‘forced to drop the complaint’ because they demanded he reveal how he obtained the information.

He told Redbrick he felt ‘very disappointed to be honest.’

‘Since the evidence was black and white, there was no question of who it was who said what. Where the source was from is irrelevant.’

‘I’m pretty sure if the University was anonymously tipped off that there was a bomb on campus, with explicit details of where, they would act on it.’

If the University was anonymously tipped off that there was a bomb on campus, they would act on it

He added, ‘as an officer I should be able to confidently encourage students to report incidents of this nature to the university. But after this, I have certainly lost confidence in doing so.’

In a statement issued to Redbrick, the University defended its handling of the case.

‘Without exception, we expect all students, regardless of other affiliations, to treat all members of the University community with respect and represent the University as a responsible ambassador through their good conduct on and off campus.

‘As outlined in our student conduct regulations, the University reserves the right to pursue disciplinary action if students are found to have breached our disciplinary offences.

‘The University treats all student complaints with the utmost seriousness and we want students to have confidence in that process. Students should feel able to report issues, through the relevant complaints process, as appropriate.

The University treats all student complaints with the utmost seriousness

‘As is clear in our complaints process, it is for the complainant to decide whether to take an issue forward to a formal complaint and for the University to support students in their decision. Where appropriate, we also support students in escalating serious cases to West Midlands Police for further investigation. As part of this process, the welfare of the complainant remains a key consideration.

‘In this case, the complainant decided not to take the issue further. However, the University is always looking to learn and take action on the issues students raise, even if something isn’t formally raised as a complaint.

‘For this reason we were already in dialogue with the British Army reviewing how the standards set out by the British Army for the Officers’ Training Corps interact with our own disciplinary process, and how good conduct can be maintained.’

UOTCB did not respond to Redbrick’s request for a comment.