Once thought to be lost to the harmful ideology of diversity, equity, and inclusion, Scouting America is attempting to make a comeback to common sense, thanks to pressure from the Department of War.
On Friday, War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that Scouting America will be undergoing several changes in order to continue running.
'A once-great organization became gravely wounded.'
Hegseth's announcement began by emphasizing the close relationship that the scouting organization has had in the past with the United States Armed Forces. From presidents to astronauts, the Scouts have always been a major feeder organization for positions of service to America.
"After 2012, however, the Boy Scouts lost their way. And a once-great organization became gravely wounded. ... DEI crept in. The name was changed to Scouting America. Girls were accepted. The focus on God as the ruler of the universe was watered down to include openness to humanism and earth-centered pagan religions," Hegseth recounted. "Scouting became an organization that no longer supported and celebrated boys."
Rather than pull the War Department's support from the organization, Hegseth explained that he chose to negotiate with the leadership of Scouting. After the talks, Scouting America has agreed to make several reforms to comply with the Trump administration's vision explicitly laid out in Executive Order 14173, "Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity."
According to Hegseth, Scouting America has promised to eliminate DEI practices, policies, and language in its communications; eliminate the DEI-related "citizen in society merit badge"; clarify that membership will be granted based solely on biological sex; waive registration fees for active duty, guard, and reserve families; and add a new "military service merit badge" to strengthen the organization's ties to the military.
Scouting America released a lengthy statement affirming the Department of War's announcement. The statement makes mention of the executive order, pledging to "comply" with it, but makes no direct mention of DEI. The statement also emphasizes that the organization intends to keep girls as members and to preserve its current name, which has caused some controversy in the past.
Hegseth expressed optimism that Scouting America will make these changes but said his department will be checking in on the organization's progress in six months to determine whether the department will continue to support the organization. He also expressed hope that "maybe someday" Scouting America will go back to being the Boy Scouts: "a group that develops boys into men."
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An NFL rule that rewards teams for developing talent along racial lines is getting put in the spotlight.
The rule, know as the Rooney Rule, is causing confusion among the Chicago Bears' C-suite employees, who are expecting compensation for one of their staff members jumping ship to the Atlanta Falcons. In the NFL, if a team develops a "diverse" employee who then lands a certain type of role with another team, the first team is awarded draft picks by the league.
'I'll be honest. I think it is a little strange.'
Bears general manager Ryan Poles was asked about the rule, as the team is currently in limbo about receiving draft picks for former assistant general manager Ian Cunningham, who is now the general manager of the Atlanta Falcons.
"I'll be honest. I think it is a little strange," Poles told reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine. "I mean, at the end of the day, you should want to develop your staff regardless of the color of their skin."
"I think that's important," Poles continued. "I think we take a lot of pride with the Bears on how we have our setup, and I take a lot of pride in that. So to be compensated for that's a little strange. I mean, I saw the Chiefs get a pick because of me, and then I watched that player go and play."
When Poles left the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022 — where he was the executive director of player personnel — to become the Bears' general manager, the Chiefs received two third-round draft picks simply because he is black, NBC Sports reported.
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The bizarre rule comes directly from the NFL's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, previously called the Workplace Diversity Committee. The rule states that teams must conduct in-person interviews with at least two "minority and/or female" candidates when hiring for a general manager or head coach, as well as at least one "diverse" person when hiring for senior-level positions.
Teams are even rewarded if their developed talent takes a job at another team. This comes in the form of third-round draft picks if an employee becomes a head coach or general manager.
The rule states that in 2020, "team owners approved a proposal rewarding teams who developed minority talent that went on to become GMs or head coaches across the league. If a team lost a minority executive or coach to another team, that team would receive a third-round compensatory pick for two years."
The controversy with Cunningham's move to the Falcons is that the Bears are being told they will not be compensated because his new role is not that of a primary decision-maker.
"The policy for receiving picks pertains to the head coach or the primary football executive," chief NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told Fox 32 in a statement.
"The primary football executive position was filled by Matt Ryan," the NFL spokesman added.
Poles stopped short of supporting the rule in his recent remarks, saying that if the league thinks "that's what's best to help incentivize, then that's what they wanted to do."
He added, "Like I said, that's not the purpose of why we develop our staff."
However, according to OutKick, the Bears are still submitting a review to the league in hopes of getting their draft picks, with Poles saying that if the Rooney Rule is in place, then he considers it to be "very clear" in terms of what should happen.
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Lipscomb Academy officials vehemently deny claims that the private school's leadership has injected DEI into the Church of Christ school.
FOIA results exposed a middle school allegedly hosting 'student equity assemblies' in which students were 'segregated' according to race, according to Defending Education.
Fortune 500 companies are waking up and understanding what time it is. It’s time for businesses to get back to business.
New evidence shows that the Supreme Court’s ban on affirmative action is not a setback; instead, it facilitates improved outcomes for all.
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