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Friday 14 december 2018

Boy Scouts’ money struggles: Is bankruptcy an option?

By DAVID CRARY
AP National Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — The Boy
Scouts of America de-
flected questions about
a report suggesting it is
considering seeking bank-
ruptcy protection, though
the head of the organiza-
tion said it is exploring “all
options” as it tries to stay
afloat while facing sexual
abuse lawsuits and dwin-
dling membership.
“I want to assure you that
our daily mission will con-
tinue and that there are no
imminent actions or imme-
diate decisions expected,”
Chief Scout Executive Mike
Surbaugh said in a state-
ment issued Wednesday
evening.
Surbaugh was responding
to a Wall Street Journal re-
port that the BSA, founded
in 1910, had hired a law
firm to assist in a possible
Chapter 11 bankruptcy fil-
ing. He described the re-
port as “news speculation,”
but he acknowledged that In this Feb. 4, 2013 file photo, shows a close up detail of a Boy Scout uniform worn during a news conference in front of the Boy
the group is “working with Scouts of America headquarters in Irving, Texas.
experts to explore all op- Associated Press
tions available” as well as to past instances of sexual moral responsibility to fairly “We have always taken of the USA filed a trade-
the pressures arising from abuse. compensate victims who care of victims — we be- mark infringement lawsuit
multiple lawsuits related “We have a social and suffered abuse during their lieve them, we believe in against the BSA for drop-
time in Scouting, and we fairly compensating them ping the word “boy” from
also have an obligation and we have paid for un- its flagship program in an
to carry out our mission to limited counseling, by a effort to attract girls.
serve youth, families and provider of their choice, re- That suit was in response
local communities through gardless of the amount of to the BSA’s decision to re-
our programs,” Surbaugh time that has passed since name its program for 11- to
said. Other institutions fac- an instance of abuse,” he 17-year-olds; it will be called
ing multifaceted sexual said. “Throughout our histo- Scouts BSA rather than the
abuse scandals have ry we have taken proactive Boy Scouts, though the par-
sought bankruptcy protec- steps to help victims heal ent organization will remain
tion recently. USA Gymnas- and prevent future abuse.” the Boy Scouts of America.
tics took the step last week In addition to abuse-re- Paul Mones, a Los Ange-
as it attempts to settle doz- lated litigation, the Boy les-based lawyer who has
ens of lawsuits related to Scouts have been trying to handled many sex-abuse
abuse by now-imprisoned reverse a decline in mem- lawsuits targeting the BSA,
gymnastics doctor Larry bership. The organizations’ said the organization has
Nassar. About 20 Roman current youth participation assets of more than $1 bil-
Catholic dioceses and oth- is about 2.3 million, down lion, but has been under
er religious orders around from 2.6 million in 2013 and increasing pressure from liti-
the U.S. have previously more than 4 million in peak gation as public awareness
filed for bankruptcy pro- years of the past. of sexual abuse intensifies.
tection as a result of clergy In a major step toward re- Mones was co-counsel in
sexual abuse claims. vitalization, the BSA is mov- a 2010 sexual abuse case
Surbaugh apologized on ing to open all its programs in Portland, Oregon, that
behalf of the BSA to those to girls, but even that has led to a nearly $20 million
abused during their time in caused problems. judgment against the BSA
the Boy Scouts. Last month, the Girl Scouts on behalf of a man mo-
lested by a Scout leader in
the 1980s. As a result of that
case, the Oregon Supreme
Court ordered the BSA to
release previously confi-
dential files on suspected

linda.reijnders@cspnv.com abusers.q