Ron DeSantis has become a genius at sticking it to the radical Left and their woke agenda.
And now his bold conservative agenda has caused one major celebrity to completely lose his mind.
Because Ron DeSantis made one move that had NFL legend Emmitt Smith beside himself with rage.
Florida bans DEI at colleges and universities
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has made cleaning out the rot in the education system one of his top priorities.
And divisive left-wing indoctrination programs like Critical Race Theory and radical gender ideologies have been in his crosshairs.
So-called Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in fact simply replace merit with a race, gender, and sexual orientation-based spoils system.
It is the system the Left uses to spread woke indoctrination in schools across the country, even in deep red states and localities.
That is why Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) recently signed a bill outlawing DEI at Florida’s public colleges and universities in a move designed to return them to their mission of education.
“Florida is where DEI goes to die,” DeSantis wrote on X after the University of Florida dropped DEI.
“DEI is toxic and has no place in our public universities,” DeSantis added. “I’m glad that Florida was the first state to eliminate DEI and I hope more states follow suit.”
Former Cowboys star Emmitt Smith comes out guns blazin’ over Florida’s colleges ditching wokeness
Former Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith is furious that his alma mater, the University of Florida, dumped its DEI office as a result of the new law.
He launched his angry assault earlier this year after the college first announced that it was done with DEI.
And in a recent interview with USA Today, Smith continued to lash out at Florida’s decision to eliminate it.
“When I see them destroying DEI for the sake of politics…it’s not even common sense,” Smith said. “This is just sheer out of spite and sheer power.”
“At the end of the day, this country was built on people fighting for what is right for everybody, not just a select few,” Smith continued. “And with that fight, and with the University of Florida being as visible as it is, it irked me. To the fullest.”
Smith claimed that the University of Florida’s President had previously stated the college would stand up to politicians on the issue.
“’Nah, we’re the University of Florida. We’re going to be here a lot longer than you, (Gov.) Ron DeSantis, a lot longer than you, Jeb Bush; we’re going to be here a lot longer than any other governor that tries to push something of this magnitude down the throats of so many Americans and so many Florida citizens.’” Smith recalled the President saying.
The former NFL star then claimed, without any facts or evidence, that getting rid of DEI would prevent students from becoming leaders.
“Because when I was in college, and everywhere I’ve been, they always talked about leadership…and how we needed to become leaders – especially athletes,” Smith said.
Smith connected the elimination of DEI with the advent of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL), which are the 3 elements that make up the legal concept of publicity in college sports, which allows players to get paid for marketing opportunities.
“So, let’s not talk about dismantling DEI at a time. I think DEI happens to be a consequence of NIL. You get one, they take the other one away. It’s strategic,” Smith ranted.
The Left has been used to dominating the agenda at colleges and universities for decades.
Now they’re lashing out because they’re losing control of the institutions.
Political Animal News will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.