Swim club accused of bias to file for bankruptcy

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A suburban Philadelphia swim club accused of discrimination in revoking the memberships of mostly black and Hispanic children after a single visit last summer plans to declare bankruptcy, a newspaper reported Saturday.

Valley Swim Club president John Duesler sent an e-mail to club “friends and families” Friday saying the board of directors had voted 5-1 to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy this week, The Philadelphia Daily News reported.

“While many will point towards our legal situation and negative media exposure this summer as the reason, the truth is that the club has struggled to stay out of the red for at least the last decade,” the newspaper quoted Duesler’s e-mail as saying.

“Despite our most ambitious efforts and countless hours of dedication towards the club, we have been unable to grow our membership enough to sustain The Valley Club any longer,” he said, according to the newspaper. “Indeed, we have not been profitable, for as long as I’ve been with the club. And our current debt from this year’s operation and legal fees now exceeds $100,000.”