Tribalism in sports, when it comes to protecting the wrongdoings of their own, is strange because fans know that it doesn't have to be that way. They do the opposite all the time.
A coach loses back to back games and it's time to start looking for a new one. A veteran star begins his decline and "he's overpaid and we should trade him." We all know the next replacements are sitting right there in front of us.
Star player graduates and it's "we'll miss him but we've got a hotshot recruit coming in so we'll be fine." Stud leaves early or signs elsewhere "we're better off without him."
Sports fans are used to the loss of their favorites and are always excited to see what's next. Why doesn't this apply when their favorites turn out to be bad people?
What's the fun in rooting for a bad person? Sure you might get a few more wins but you know they feel hollow. You always have to qualify your fandom against the bad person's actions.
Catching heat from friends and coworkers, being the butt of jokes, where's the fun even if you're winning? Why isn't it easier for fans to just say "get out," you're not one of us the same way they would for a player who left on his own?
Seinfeld has a great joke that "we're all just rooting for laundry." So why are we all ok and not offended when a piece of shit person stains the laundry we love?
