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CynicalScouter

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Posts posted by CynicalScouter

  1. 7 minutes ago, gpurlee said:

    Credibility - that will be the issue today. If the "star witness" comes across as sincere and has a ton of supporting documents, e-mails and other persons who back his statements, it will likely be a devastating blow to the BSA.

    Right, and this is where I wonder.

    If there are emails or documents showing or suggesting that BSA is actively engaged in not doing enough, that's on thing.

    If it comes down to "IN MY PROFESSIONAL OPINION BSA is not doing enough", then BSA trots out someone to say "YP is great and glorious and this person is just disgruntled."

    And then they can throw Johnson's words back at him in which HE said the YP was great.

    One of the reason what the Oregon case and the LA Times followup were so critical is that there were documents. We could read/can read the 1970s era documents showing LCs knew what was happening and then covered it up (and that became part of several books).

    In this case I wonder.

  2. 9 minutes ago, Eagle1993 said:

    Perhaps the report later today will be a nothing burger. 

    Right but as you point out it’s not the substance of the report it’s the media and public relations nightmare.

    A substantial report that identifies continued lapses in youth protection is going to get the interests of a variety of different people. We already know at least one Attorney General is looking into this.

    but even in insubstantial report that doesn’t contain much new or interesting it’s going to be taken a lot more seriously when and if it’s coming out of the mouth of the former head of youth protection.

    What I also I think is interesting is references to nondisclosure non-disparagement agreement that he refused. That does sound like severance or termination. Expect BSA therefore to run with the former employee/sour grapes/disgruntled line of defense.

    of course Johnson can wrap himself up with the “I quit because BSA didn’t take things seriously” or “I was terminated for telling unpleasant truths”

    I thought about this overnight why is he sending open letters to Congress? If what he saying or what we suspect he’s going to say is true he should be walking into the Michigan Attorney General’s office or law enforcement.

    • Upvote 1
  3. 8 minutes ago, Eagle1993 said:

    I hope BSA’s board is ready to meet today to discuss:

    - Validity of MJ’s claims and what action to immediately take in terms of BSA leadership 

    - Hiring crisis PR firm … as regardless of the validity they will need to respond today

    - Hiring an external agency to investigate the claims 

    To me, those are the three immediate actions and it must come from the board not the current leadership.

    Here's the problem: the BSA remains in absolute and total denial about all of this. They still insist their YP is best in the world, no problem, it is perfect, nothing needs to be fixed or changed. We've seen scouters in this very forum repeat that line: BSA has the best YP. We're fine. That was all in the past.

    It is going to be really, really hard if not impossible for them to wrap their brains around the idea that, no, it is still a problem and it is happening in THEIR WATCH.

  4. 7 hours ago, vol_scouter said:

    Tomorrow might change many things.  As a non-legal type, this is just my little informed conjecture but this seems ominous for most of us on this list whether hoping for more compensation for all, preservation of the BSA, or both.

    This entire time BSA has been making the case/claim that the days of sexual abuse were over that the BSA YP system was the best ever and that BSA required no structural reforms just to get out of debt.

    Johnson is if this reads right about to nuke those propositions. Remember he was there as recently as 11 months ago.

    Now, since this is NOT the Johnson thread but bankruptcy let me suggest how this has bankruptcy ramifications.

    1) BSA’s business model is that it will slowly build back membership to 1 million scouts in 2025. This will hurt that.

    2) The TCC has demanded that BSA reform its YP system only to have BSA refuse and insist on watered down language (an outside evaluator picked by BSA can “suggest” changes that BSA is free to ignore). Expect the TCC to demand an outsider appointed by the victims with real power. And by real power I mean something close to a receivership or compliance monitor typically appointed for things like out of control police departments.

    3) there is absolutely no reason for anyone to vote in favor of this plan. From this point on every lawsuit and every claim Will have Johnson testifying at it.

    4) this also potentially and I think most importantly reopens the statute of limitations issue across-the-board in every state. Why? First He no doubt be called to testify before state legislative committees about what he saw thereby prompting more statue limitations windows to open. Second one of the ways to get around a statute of limitation is to demonstrate active efforts to conceal. If Johnson can come in and testify that Boy Scouts of America as recently as 2020 we’re still allowing this abuse to occur and still hiding information from defendants about their claims and abusers? Game over.

    • Upvote 1
  5. 7 hours ago, vol_scouter said:

    The insurance companies could say that the BSA acted in a manner that violated the terms of the policies thus removing their obligations to cover the cases. 

    That has been Hartford’s case all along. Remember back in 2019 Hartford refused to honor its BSA coverage policies for this reason. BSA sued Hartford and that suit was ongoing up to the date of the bankruptcy filing.

  6. 2 hours ago, CynicalScouter said:

    He will be the star witness in every single lawsuit filed from now until doomsday.

    even if they offered 2.7 million why would you even want that now? After this all you have to do is walk into a courtroom compel this guy to testify and just name your number.

    Kosnoff had the same idea I did: Johnson is going to spend the rest of his life going from one court to another in Plaintiff vs. BSA and LCs.

     

  7. 4 minutes ago, Eagle1993 said:

    BSA would have to be pretty stupid to fire their youth protection director in the middle of a CSA bankruptcy without a ton of cause.

    They've got stupid by the buckets. That's not being snarky but an honest observation. They really, truly I believe at the highest levels believe ALL the sexual abuse was a thing of the past before "they" got here and therefore let's just move on.

    If Johnson comes out as a whistleblower to say "yeah, it still happens. A lot." that squashes their motif.

  8. Just now, ThenNow said:

    This just keeps getting better and better. What time are you guys signing off? I might make a pot of coffee and hang around a while. 

    It already made its way to reddit (notably NOT r/BSA which has a lot of official BSA types and no doubt got it deleted)

    Waiting for someone to post to the FB groups I know. That will be the next thing.

    Lot of scout folks in for a rude awakening tomorrow.

  9. 1 minute ago, Eagle1993 said:

    I wonder how he became former.  Was he fired or did he resign. MJ’s LinkedIn profile shows him as the current youth protection director.  So, I’m not 100% sure it is him.  

    I emailed in February 2021 and got the "no longer employed" bounce-back.

    He may have been fired and this will get played off as "sour grapes".

    The other factor is that Johnson was the BSA spokesperson for "YPT is dandy". Now all his prior comments to the press about how BSA takes YP seriously will get thrown back in his face.

  10. Ok, so I want to bring this announcement into the bankruptcy context. What could it mean?

    1. Johnson's getting a deposition and document demand notice from like, everyone.
    2. The next hearing date is October 19. I'd lay Vegas odds his name or existence gets mentioned no fewer than 4 times.
    3. It is too late to stop the presses: the ballots are out the door. But the schedule calls for a "supplemental" document drop in the middle of voting. What can go in there? This is what the court's order says

    https://casedocs.omniagentsolutions.com/cmsvol2/pub_47373/9d623e3a-8baa-4d7d-a583-0d74bce4c415_6528.pdf

    Quote

    (b) with respect to the Plan Supplement to be filed by Debtors no later than November 30, 2021, (i) Participating Parties shall be permitted to propound reasonable, appropriate discovery related to items in the Plan Supplement, and to notice depositions related thereto, and (ii) Debtors have the right, subject to the meet and confer requirement in paragraph 8, to oppose, and seek protection from, any such Plan Supplement-related discovery that they believe is not reasonable and appropriate.

    So, the TCC can try to get Johnson's existence or even better a deposition from him into the supplemental that goes out. And BSA can oppose it. Let's see if they will.

    If I'm the Stang on behalf of the TCC I am simply putting in a copy of Johnson's declaration under oath/perjury with the words VOTE NO in 72 point font.

  11. 1 hour ago, RememberSchiff said:

    Maybe. Another possibility however unlikely,  Douglas Sovereign Smith, a former program director of the Boy Scouts of America and chairman of its Youth Protection Task Force. He was released from prison in 2013 after serving about 7 years on child pornography charges.

    The math doesn't or does work, I don't know, but again cannot discount anything.

    • Thanks 1
  12. And by the way: everybody here who’s been for the last two years telling me about how great youth protection is and how Boy Scouts takes youth protection seriously?

    tomorrow is your reckoning.

    Say goodbye to BSA I’m serious say goodbye to BSA they are done you don’t have the head of your youth protection program come out in a public statement like this and expect to survive.

    say goodbye.

  13. If the former head of youth protection for the Boy Scouts of America is ready to say it is crud you can say goodbye to the bankruptcy.

    He will be the star witness in every single lawsuit filed from now until doomsday.

    why on earth would anyone ever want to settle now?

    even if they offered 2.7 million why would you even want that now? After this all you have to do is walk into a courtroom compel this guy to testify and just name your number.

  14. 10 minutes ago, MYCVAStory said:

    At a press conference, the 10-year former Youth Protection Director for Scouts BSA (formerly the Boy Scouts of America) will speak out about the dangers that Scouts BSA pose to children right now.

    Michael Johnson was in from 2010-2021

    The math is about right 

    https://www.scoutingnewsroom.org/press-releases/boy-scouts-of-america-appoints-michael-johnson-as-youth-protection-director/

    Not saying it was Johnson. Saying Johnson would make sense.

     

  15. 4 minutes ago, Wondering said:

    An article from The Conversation today:

    Sexual abuse survivors are voting on the Boy Scouts bankruptcy settlement: 5 questions answered

    https://theconversation.com/sexual-abuse-survivors-are-voting-on-the-boy-scouts-bankruptcy-settlement-5-questions-answered-168337

    Just as a point of reference and I’m glad this article alludes to it but I have had so many people in my troop and at my roundtable tell me that the bankruptcy is over the deal is been struck and everything‘s gonna be fine.

    The report that came out several weeks ago of the RSA being approved and the fact that local councils have still not exactly been forthcoming is going to slam people like a bat to the back of the head when this plan gets voted down.

    everybody’s convinced it’s all over things are fine because they read online a deal got struck.

    We’re going to be deep into 2022 before we see anything that even looks like daylight.

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