No UF job, no dignity, no self-respect: Was it really worth it, Santa Ono?

My father died in 1999 – yet 26 years later I still find myself constantly drawing from his bottomless well of sage wisdom, straight-shooting common sense and exquisitely timed advice.
OK, OK, OK.
There was that one time when my dad, weary of the 11-year-old me hounding him to let me try chewing tobacco so I could imitate Sparky Lyle – one of my favorite baseball players – intentionally withheld some advice that definitely would have been handy:
When you chew tobacco, you spit out the juice.
You don't swallow the juice!!!!!!!
That realization hit me not long after I took the chaw of tobacco out of my mouth.
Unfortunately, however, it also hit me after I had projectile vomited across the kitchen table while eating the apple pie my mother gave me and my brothers for our evening snack.
(No, I've never touched chewing tobacco again. And, yes, I do suspect that's exactly what my father had in mind when he 'forgot' the 'spit out the juice, son' part.}
But . . . anyway . . .
I can say I also remember a piece of advice that my dad was willing to share with me – and thankfully so:
'Rog,' he said, 'if you ever fail and fall, do it holding on to your principles and dignity. It won't hurt as much when you hit the ground – and it'll be much easier when you get back up.'
Which leads me to these questions:
Won't it be painful for Santa Ono to get up off the ground after appearing to toss aside both his principles and dignity in an unsuccessful bid to become the University of Florida's president?
Won't it be difficult for Ono to rise to his feet after bending one knee at the altar of 'We hate diversity, equity and inclusion' sycophancy – only to have a Louisville Slugger smashed across both of them by the anti-DEI sycophants he was pathetically pandering to please?
Was any of this degrading self-debasement worth it?
Was any of this open groveling worth the effort to win the 'privilege' of doing that dumb Gator Chomp on Saturday nights during UF Gators football games?
Any of it?
By now, everyone knows the story of Ono.
You know, he's the former University of Michigan president who:
Used to be an avid supporter of DEI as UM's leader.
Cynically changed his views on diversity, equity and inclusion at UM to appease the divisive and obsessive anti-DEI movement, led by its high priest of toxic propaganda, New College of Florida Board Trustee Christopher Rufo.
Abruptly resigned from UM to pursue the presidency at UF, whose trustees rubber-stamped him as the sole candidate for the job.
Panicked when the 'woke-woke-woke-woke-woke' myna birds – led by Rufo (naturally) and Florida Congressman Byron Donalds (a 2026 Republican gubernatorial candidate) began swarming and pecking him over his past support for DEI.
Opinion: Don't let politics rule UF president decision. Just look at New College.
Wrote a widely distributed – and utterly servile – guest column in which he insisted that there couldn't possibly be a single person on Earth who despised DEI as deeply and as passionately as he did.
Saw the University of Florida presidency snatched from his grasping hands when the Florida Board of Governors rejected UF's recommendation to give him the job.
Now what's the one common thread regarding Ono in pretty much all of the above items?
Sarasota Voices: A Conversation with the Opinion Page Editor
It's the thread of one man appearing far too willing to treat both principles and dignity as expendable attributes, and he didn't even sacrifice them for a cause – sheer professional opportunism – that's particularly noble.
And when you think about it, could there possibly be anything more nauseating than that?
Um, actually, let me take that back – there is one thing that comes to mind.
Opinion Editor Roger Brown can be reached at roger.brown@heraldtribune.com. Follow him on X (Twitter) @RBrown_HTOpin.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: No UF president job for Ono, who bowed to anti-DEI fanatics | Opinion

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