Naval Academy alumni board member resigns after accidental broadcast of racial slurs on Facebook

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Naval Academy Alumni Association Board of Trustees member resigned from his position Saturday after an accidental Facebook Live video broadcast him and his wife making racist comments and using racial slurs while talking about the Black Lives Matter movement.

Scott Bethmann, 63, and his wife, Nancy, were watching the news and discussing the Black Lives Matter movement, The Jacksonville Times-Union reported. According to the paper and the video, which was shared on social media, they made racist comments and used slurs in a video that was streamed on Facebook Live.

“Somehow I clicked onto some live event,” Scott Bethmann could be heard saying in the now-viral video.

By the end of the 33-minute stream, which mostly shows a black screen, Bethmann realizes he’s live and pointing the camera at his couch. He starts reading the comments aloud and asks, “What are they talking about?” before muttering “Oops,” and cutting the feed.

His Facebook page has been taken down entirely.

Atlantic Beach and Jacksonville residents were quick to take screen recordings of the video Friday night before Bethmann’s page was scrubbed. Those recordings have been posted and shared across social media platforms and were re-posted multiple times in an Atlantic Beach community Facebook group.

“Scott has resigned as a local board member locally and nationally,” said Caleb Cronic, president of the USNA Alumni Association Jacksonville chapter, where Bethmann served as treasurer.

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