The Boy Scouts of America announced on Monday that a gay troop leader has been stripped of his position for “abrubtly injecting” his sexuality in the program.
According to Yahoo News, Geoff McGrath of Seattle is believed to be the first troop leader to lose his position because of his sexual orientation. He had applied to for a new troop last fall, but it was denied. The Boy Scouts of America was aware of his support for the gay community and his involvement in promoting gay rights, according to McGrath.
However, a spokeswoman for the organization said they didn’t know about his sexual orientation or his involvement in the gay community until she was contacted by NBC for a profile on McGrath. She was quoted as saying, ““It was then that 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.”
In early March, USA Today reported that Disney would no longer fund the Boy Scouts of America due to their harsh policy to not allow gay leaders in the organization beginning in 2015. Though it does not directly fund the program, Disney donates money in exchange for volunteer hours from Disney employees.