In the sports world, when a coach or player receives the thumbs up from management, it often bodes poorly for that person. For some reason, the management types feel a need to hide behind “unfailing support” for the person, when in fact they are on their way out.

No one does this better than Al Davis, the owner-manager of the Oakland Raiders football team. Davis has gone through more coaches than Paris Hilton has boyfriends. The beginning of the end for each coach is Davis’ “complete support” of the man. Or, what I like to call their “kiss of death.”

Now, this is not unique to any one sport, in fact it’s safe to say it’s not even unique to sports. The world of politics exercises this same approach from time to time. The latest “kiss of death” may well be the congressional court jester Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee support of Kenneth Lewis, the troubled head of Bank of America. (NYSE BAC)

To bring everyone up to speed, it was Lewis who brought the mortgage giant CountryWide and financial king, Merrill Lynch under the wing of Bank of America.

As reported by CNN Money: “…that Lewis should have borne responsibility for B of A’s failings is unquestionable. He paid too much for Merrill and conducted too little due diligence. And when pressured by the government to complete the deal after belatedly learning of Merrill’s woes, he did not do enough to alert his shareholders to the impending doom.”

Of concern with the Merrill Lynch purchase, was the large payouts of bonuses for an under-productive company. This, coupled with the absorption of bad debt with the acquisition of CountryWide led many to believe that Lewis’ tenure as CEO and chairman of the board was coming to an end. The stockholders meeting this week slapped his hand by removing him as chairman of the board while retaining him as the CEO.

Of course, Barney Frank felt it was important that he contribute his opinion. Now, remember this is the same man who assured us that investing in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was a safe bet. That these two entities were as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar.

In spite of investigations by the New York Attorney General’s office and what may kindly be called the collusion between Bank of America and certain government officials to purchase Merrill lynch, Old Barney had this to say about Lewis: “People say ‘What’s the matter with these financial executives? Why are they only thinking of their own narrow interest? What about the public interest?’ Frank said. “That’s what Ken did. It ought to be acknowledged.”

As usual, Frank is out of step with the facts, reported news, and the wisdom of the Bank of America stock holders. Kenneth Lewis has clearly demonstrated arrogance and selfishness in his actions. To say that these were acts of a benevolent corporate head is simply wrong.

Whether Kenneth Lewis will survive long term remains to be seen. But if I were him, I’d want to distance myself from the endorsement of Barney Frank. The endorsement of Barney Frank is an endorsement that has all of the ingredients of someone saying “he’s got my full support,” while all the while a search for a replacement is already under way.