Scott Bethmann Wiki – Scott Bethmann Biography
“Scott has resigned as a local board member locally and nationally,” said Caleb Cronic, the USNA Alumni Association Jacksonville chapter president. Cronic confirmed Bethmann was disenrolled as a member of the alumni association.
“These attributed statements do not represent the mission and values of the Alumni Association, the Naval Academy or the U.S. Navy,” Retired Adm. Samuel Locklear said in a statement. “As volunteer leaders in our communities, we must be inspirations and examples for all citizens. As Chairman of our Alumni Association, I have accepted the resignation of this alumnus effective today, and asked the Jacksonville, FL, chapter to take appropriate action to appoint a new Chapter Trustee.”
Locklear said the alumni association represents “more than 65,000 individuals from diverse backgrounds and perspectives.”
“We support the Naval Academy mission. As alumni, we seek to uphold the Naval Academy core leadership values of honor, courage, and commitment,” he said. “As an alumni organization, we seek to be an inspiration for all young people who want to become future Navy and Marine Corps officers. We will continue to honor that inspirational role. We are all in this together. We must face the challenges of today and all future challenges of tomorrow … together.”
“As individuals, as Sailors, and as a Navy, we cannot tolerate racism of any kind,” Adm. Mike Gilday, chief of Naval Operations, said in a statement emailed to the Times-Union. “We must actively speak out against it. And when it rears its ugly head, we must take decisive action.”
After the Times-Union’s initial story was published, a spokesman with the Atlantic Beach Country Club confirmed Bethmann’s status as a member would be rescinded.
“Be assured we find these comments extremely offensive, inflammatory and antithetical to what this Club stands for and represents,” a statement from the country club said. “As such, we have voted today to immediately expel this member and his family from the Club.
Scott Bethmann Age
He is 63 years old.
Scott Bethmann and his Wife
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A quiet Friday night on the couch between a now-former Naval Academy Alumni Association Board of Trustees member and his wife went awry when a private conversation was broadcast to hundreds. While Scott Bethmann, 63, and his wife, Nancy, were watching the news, they started discussing the Black Lives Matter movement, making racist comments, and using slurs in a video that was accidentally streamed on Facebook Live. Bethmann resigned from his position with the alumni association. He had served on the board of a chapter in Jacksonville. “Somehow I clicked onto some live event,” Bethmann says in the video, which went viral.
In video reviewed by the Florida Times-Union of the USA TODAY Network, Bethmann talks about how large companies such as Citi Bank came out with statements denouncing racism and showing solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. “I’ve got the emails about how we’re supporting and we need to fix this problem, [expletive] you,” he says in the video. “So all the white people have to say something nice to the black [expletive] that works in the office. But the black [expletive] don’t get fired. It’s [expletive]. Management’s going to fire white people.”
The pair discussed how minority groups, particularly women, in the military were going to “steal our intellectual property.” By the end of the 33-minute accidental stream, which mostly shows a black screen, Bethmann realized he was living and pointing the camera at his cream-colored couch. He starts reading comments aloud and asks, “What are they talking about?” before muttering, “Oops” and cutting the feed. His Facebook page has been taken down entirely. Screen recordings of the video were taken Friday night before Bethmann’s page was scrubbed.
Apologizes
In a statement issued through a family spokesperson, Bethmann said it was never appropriate “to use derogatory terms when speaking about our fellow man.” “There are no words that can appropriately express how mortified and apologetic my wife and I are about the insensitive things we said that were captured on social media,” he said.
“I know that an apology from us rings hollow on many ears in our community, especially in the current environment. We intend on using this experience as an opportunity to grow, listen, learn, and reflect. “We are deeply sorry for the impact our actions have had on the Naval Academy, my fellow servicemen, and women, our former colleagues, friends, family, and the community as a whole. We are committed to educating ourselves more on the racial inequalities in this country and being better people.”
‘Honor, courage and commitment’
The Jacksonville chapter of the Naval Academy Alumni Association said Bethmann had resigned from the board, which held an emergency meeting Saturday to discuss moving forward.
“The nature of those comments are not consistent with our volunteer leadership mission,” or the Navy, the alumni association said in a Facebook post.
It said discrimination was not tolerated in its values of “honor, courage, and commitment.”
Bethmann was the chapter treasurer and national trustee, the post said.
The U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association Board of Trustees’ chairman, retired Admiral Samuel J. Locklear III, said the “statements do not represent the mission and values of the Alumni Association, the Naval Academy or the U.S. Navy.”
Locklear said in a statement that the association represented “more than 65,000 individuals from diverse backgrounds and perspectives.”
He continued: “As an alumni organization, we seek to be an inspiration for all young people who want to become future Navy and Marine Corps officers. We will continue to honor that inspirational role. We are all in this together. We must face the challenges of today and all future challenges of tomorrow … together.”
CNN has made attempts to speak to Bethmann and has reached out to the Naval Academy Alumni Association.
