It’s worse than that, because they are most certainly not dumb people. They’re doing it on purpose.
I see it a different way. They're successful to the point of being billionaires. Their NFL teams are their toys. They don't want trouble, and as a result never looked beyond the protests and forward to the negative impact it would have on their investment.
What happens when the more responsible of owners decide that the investment isn't worth the grief or the downside risk? When the best of them cash out and move on to other diversions, the results will truly be catastrophic and irreversible. Now, the inmates are running the asylum. Will the next step be the inmates owning the asylum?