Last Updated on February 18, 2020
The Boy Scouts of America have reportedly filed for bankruptcy protection after being hit by a deluge of sexual assault lawsuits.
In recent years, the Boy Scouts of America has made a point of virtue signaling to progressive causes–to the detriment of the wider organization and interest from families with growing boys.
With the possibility of amassing massive legal costs on many fronts, due to multiple sexual assault cases lodged against the Boy Scouts, the famous nonprofit filed for Chapter 11 protection on Tuesday, according to NBC News.
Following the surprising revelation, the Boy Scouts of America signaled that only the national organization–and not local chapters, who remain financially independent–has filed for Chapter 11 protection.
When filing for protection, a Scouts spokesperson said that there were:
“two key objectives: equitably compensate victims who were harmed during their time in Scouting and continue carrying out its mission for years to come. The BSA intends to use the Chapter 11 process to create a Victims Compensation Trust that would provide equitable compensation to victims.”
On Tuesday, Boy Scouts of America President and CEO, Roger Mosby, said:Â “The BSA cares deeply about all victims of abuse and sincerely apologizes to anyone who was harmed during their time in Scouting. We are outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage of our programs to harm innocent children.”
He continued: “While we know nothing can undo the tragic abuse that victims suffered, we believe the Chapter 11 process — with the proposed Trust structure — will provide equitable compensation to all victims while maintaining the BSA’s important mission.”
Early last year, girls could officially join the Boy Scouts, causing an uproar among parents and critics.
According to CNN, Chief Scout Executive, Michael B. Surbaugh, said: “Through Scouts BSA, more young people than ever before — young women and men — will get to experience the benefits of camaraderie, confidence, resilience, trustworthiness, courage and kindness through a time-tested program that has been proven to build character and leadership.”
In 2013 the National Council of Boy Scouts voted 61% to 38% to allow openly gay individuals into the organizations, although they couldn’t immediate assume leadership roles.
Four years later, in 2017, the first transgender individual was admitted into the nonprofit, opening their doors to girls who identified as boys.
Boy Scouts has become one of the many organizations to have felt financial repercussions after vociferously championing progressive causes.