Former Florida and Dallas Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith blasted his alma mater in a press release Sunday in response to the college’s controversial firing of its whole Variety, Fairness and Inclusion division Friday.
“I’m totally disgusted by UF’s resolution and the precedent that it units,” Smith wrote on social media. “With out the DEI division, the job falls to the Workplace of the Provost, who already has their palms full, to boost cash for the college and proceed to advance the educational research and athletic packages. We can not proceed to imagine and belief {that a} staff of leaders all made up of the identical background will make the fitting resolution in relation to equality and variety. Historical past has already confirmed that isn’t the case.
“As an alternative of exhibiting braveness and management, we proceed to fail based mostly on systemic points and with this resolution, UF has conformed to the political pressures of as we speak’s time,” he continued.
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— Emmitt Smith (@EmmittSmith22) March 3, 2024
Florida made its resolution to eradicate all the DEI positions to “adjust to the Florida Board of Governor’s regulation 9.016 on prohibited expenditures.” The board defines DEI as “any program, campus exercise, or coverage that classifies people on the premise of race, coloration, intercourse, nationwide origin, gender id, or sexual orientation and promotes differential or preferential therapy of people on the premise of such classification,” per the Gainesville Solar.
Moreover, the regulation states {that a} state college “could not expend any state or federal funds to advertise, help, or preserve any packages or campus actions” that violate part 1000.05 of Florida Statutes, advocate for what it defines as range, fairness, and inclusion, or promote or interact in what it defines as political or social activism.
Smith, the NFL’s all-time speeding chief, completed his assertion with a message to the minority athletes at present attending Florida.
“To the MANY, minority athletes at UF, please bear in mind and vocal in regards to the resolution by the College who’s now closing the doorways on different minorities with none oversight,” Smith wrote. “And to those that suppose it’s not your downside and keep on the facet strains and say nothing, you might be complicit in supporting systemic points.”