I grew up in my grandparents' home.  My beloved grandfather (rah'matullahi alayhi) fought in the Pacific theater of WWII.  He understood, and taught me, that three concepts can coexist in society: (1) past a certain age we are responsible for our own actions, (2) those who are NOT held accountable for their actions can and do perpetrate egregious injustices against those who can't fight back, (3) the fact that one may feel immune from a specific set of injustices doesn't prevent one from empathizing with its victims, and does obligate one to strive to redress said injustices.

The author didn't pick the wrong guy.  Ditka specifically denied a century of injustices and atrocities which YOU couldn't tolerate or even survive because he wasn't subjected to 'em.  And you can't claim the feeble action of these football players "desecrates" your political holy symbol unless you're prepared to acknowledge the "uncomfortable" truth--that flag symbolizes a white supremacist country.  Always has.