The most memorable example of "lack of backbone" for myself was Evergreen State College president, George Bridges.
There was a large protest in 2017. The administration met to discuss the situation. Students prevented the administrators from leaving the meeting room unless they had an escort to ensure the administrators came to a resolution.
The president mentioned his need to use the restroom to one of the protest leaders. The student responded, "Hold it."[0] He finally went to the restroom a couple of minutes later, but he was escorted by some of the protesting students.[1]