I’ve seen this in action. In the newspaper industry. Some kid is trying to come out, he’s mouth becomes too big for his face and co-workers just shun him or shut him out unless they absolutely need to deal with him. They pick on him on their private time only to come to the consensus that almost everyone else feels the same way. So that vibe just carries on. Soon enough someone in power or shared power sees him as a threat, they find any dirt to get on them and tell the advisor just to get them fired. It becomes a personal kniving thing to do but its a social strategy to weed out those you don’t want in your group. Unfortunate but it happens.