Whitlock: Texas coach Lovie Smith is the latest black victim of the diversity, inclusion and equality cult

Shotgun marriages don’t work, especially in modern America. We have too many options, too many easily accessible temptations to hold on to a marriage we don’t believe in.

Ask the Houston Texans. Yesterday, they ended their second straight shotgun marriage hours after the conclusion of the regular season and split from head coach Lovie Smith less than a year after he was hired.

Being a billionaire doesn’t mean it’s cheaper to keep them.

The NFL has all of its employees sign a prenuptial agreement, a contract that limits the divorce settlement. Cal McNair, the owner of the Texans, would rather write Smith a check for $15 million to $20 million than pursue a relationship that he believes has no real future. The Texans did exactly the same thing a year ago when they decided to annul their marriage to David Culley, another coach whom they quickly married without real conviction.

This is the result of the racial policies foisted on the NFL by the corporate media, which the league office adopted without opposition. Neither Smith nor Culley got the Houston job because management believed they were the best candidates. Smith and Culley were chosen primarily because of their skin color, pressure from Roger Goodell and his top lieutenant Troy Vincent, and the NFL’s desire not to be called racist for their treatment of black coaches.

Houston felt guilty about hiring Smith and Culley. Guilt can get a man the job, but it won’t allow him to keep that job. Do you think Cal McNair feels sorry for Smith and Culley after cutting millions of dollars in severance pay? No way. McNair feels he has done Smith and Culley a favor. He has.

Culley was a career-long NFL assistant. He was 66 when he got his first job as a head coach. The longtime receiver coach was working as a passing game coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens when the Texans gave him the job.

Passing Coordinator for Lamar Jackson’s Baltimore Ravens? It’s like becoming the CEO of Weight Watchers after being Lizzo’s veg coordinator.

No, the Texans gave Culley the job for free. Everyone knew it, including the players in the Houston locker room. False narratives die in a football dressing room. Things that sound good on Twitter or during a woke ESPN rant often sound like hot junk in a locker room where players just want to win games and don’t really care about their head coach’s color.

Culey didn’t inspire anyone. The Texans went 4-13 last year. Culley offered no unique strategic advantage or leadership.

Years ago, Lovie Smith offered a unique strategic advantage and impactful leadership. He was an expert at Tony Dungy’s Tampa 2 defense, and Smith emulated his mentor’s quiet strength and composure. Smith had a strong run with the Chicago Bears for nine years, winning three division titles and an NFC championship.

He turned that into a two-year stint in Tampa and five seasons at the University of Illinois. His last successful season as a head coach was a decade ago in 2012 – his last season in Chicago.

Lovie is now 64. He’s lost his magic. The Texans hired him to please the race lures in the media. It’s a recipe for failure.

You can’t run 60 men in a dressing room when everyone knows you were hired because Roger Goodell, Troy Vincent and ESPN Talking Heads forced the owner to hire you.

Guilt and racial idolatry are powerful forces on Twitter. The same bright players who tweet “Black Lives Matter” behave very differently in a dressing room. They want to be led by dynamic coaches of all stripes.

Media race lures have emasculated black coaches. You made them all sympathy employees. Everyone, including black players, is suspicious of the qualifications and competence of a black head coach. This is the result of the pervasive movement for diversity, justice and inclusion. It is 10 times more harmful than positive action. That’s why I call it DIE It’s the death of black male excellence.

DIE will not produce more successful black head coaches or leaders in other industries. DAS creates figureheads for black and white women and members of the LGBTQ community. If they don’t already have it, every NFL and NBA franchise will have a woman or gay person leading their diversity, inclusion, and equity group.

This is the real endgame of all this madness. It has nothing to do with producing successful leadership for straight black men. It will create more shotgun marriages that are headed for failure. It will produce more young black men who feel they are owed an opportunity than young men who are trying to create opportunities for themselves.

NFL owners don’t have a problem with Brian Flores’ skin color. It has a problem with its attitude and the attitude of a generation of young people who feel entitled. The world owes nothing to men of any color.

Victims are not leaders. The people who try to pressure employers into a job are not leaders. They are cowards.

If Lovie Smith is a victim of anything, it is the perception created by diversity, inclusion and equality advocates who see black men as weak and unqualified.