I’ve explained to many a person, that our culture is still enamored with false pretenses and virtue signaling (also known as Political Correctness). Unfortunately, many day-to-day decisions at universities, government, and other large organizations have very little to do with considering merit. A good example is the reduction of staff at ESPN:
ESPN NFL reporter Ed Werder, one of the most prominent faces among the layoffs last month, said in a podcast that he heard quality of work would not be a consideration when employees were let go. He lamented that “it seemed to me that quality work should be the only consideration.” Not in this America, the one ruled by social-media perception and dismissive of the real world.
Source: How a Gawker-Affiliated Website Made ESPN Politically Correct