The Boy Scouts of America abruptly fired an openly gay scout leader on Monday. The faith based youth organization cited its policy that prevents adults from “deliberately injecting” their sexuality into the organization.
Geoff NcGrath, 49, was a scoutmaster with the newly formed Troop 98 in Seattle, WA. He was fired after the BSA got word that he planned to send a press release to the media announcing he was the first openly gay scout master in America.
McGrath, who was aware of the BSA’s policy banning gay scout leaders, said he believed the organization’s attitude had changed after they welcomed gay boy scouts.
Not surprisingly, he is now portraying himself as the victim.
“It’s extremely disappointing to not be fully supported and defended in my membership,” McGrath told NBC News. “They are complaining that [his homosexuality] is a distraction to Scouting and they don’t seem to understand that the distraction is self-inflicted.”
McGrath was hired by Seattle’s Boy Scouts Council shortly after the BSA made its landmark decision to welcome openly gay youths.
A spokesman for the BSA said the organization had no idea McGrath was gay — even though he has been married to his “husband” for 20 years.
“Our policy is that we do not ask people about their sexual orientation, and it’s not an issue until they deliberately inject it into Scouting in an inappropriate fashion,” BSA spokesman Deron Smith wrote in an email to the NY Daily News.
Another scout leader accused McGrath of trying to promote the gay agenda.
“We became aware of his intentions to make a public statement about his orientation and use our program as a means to further a personal agenda,” Seattle Council leader Sharon Moulds told the Daily News.
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