Really? You are going to allow the OP in this type of forum? I suggest you close this thread before someone gets hurt. But if you are going to keep it open for "free speech" reasons:
Dr. Williams admits to saying, "You may have got your job because you're black, but I'd prefer to think you got your job because of merit." To me, that is roughly equivalent to someone saying to her, "You may have got your job because you had sex with your boss, but I'd prefer to think you got your job because of merit."
In Latin, perhaps, one could write those sentences so the first part is clearly indicated "contrary to fact". Not only is English, I think, less exact, but the use of "prefer to think" in the second part strongly affirms the previous clause.
In my opinion, Dr. Williams statement was more than "regrettable", it was outrageous. By the almost snickering use of "PC" by some of the commentators on the Board I my guess my opinion is not a unanimous opinion [not sure why "an unanimous" sounds so incorrect. I would say "an umbrella", but "a unicorn"--must be the particular "u" sound]. Fine, we disagree.
The problem with Dr. Williams's punishment, in my opinion, is that sometimes nice people, truly nice people, get whacked (Google governor, blackface, Virginia--my former home state). Other nice people are horrified/scared/angry in some combination. When it might affect their jobs, the reaction is even worse. Some people might think that is good--make people confront reality--, but I worry about the consequences of that. Better, in my opinion, would be some sort of sit-down and discussion, and more soulful resolution.
Merit: Can we almost all agree people should advance due to merit? Probably yes. Can we all agree with what is merit? Probably not.
The problem I have with the 4 points Dr. Williams wanted to make was that they appear to me so obvious. They are the water the panelists probably swim in everyday. Her urge to present them makes it seem as though she was not listening. (Do I hear groans when that sentence is read? Is it too "woke"? Do I hear groans at my writing of "woke"). So I am not going to make the same error by arguing diversity is not about "goodness", but strengthens research and teaching on its own. You have heard the arguments. You either agree with the points, or not. I could also parse a sentence like "Rome/Greece 'gave' 'us' the concept of Democracy and Freedom". But I am almost completely sure that anyone on this forum could do it better.