man, this is her own team, this isn't some abstract very removed issue , this people she worked with advocating for her.

Yeah but her own team will probably be the most likely to advocate for her.

Go to any university in the US right after a prof is denied tenure. His students will inevitably protest this decision the loudest.

Also, what were they supposed to do after she sent an email to a huge listserv at the company telling all her subordinates that they should not participate in the company's D&I initiatives and should essentially quit working there? You can't pay people to tell your own employees to stop working for you...

maybe her departure affects their promo cycles