I agree with you but I think Gates dynamited his reputation long before this incident. Just go watch his PBS appearances wherein he like to present himself as some sort of radical that is beyond what he is capable of. Gates is I suppose what one could call a limousine radical.
Of course all manner of clips and episodes from his past have been brought back up, beginning with his 1990 defense of 2LiveCrew’s disgusting “Nasty as They Wanna’ Be” album where he compared them to Shakespeare. Also his right-on , sock it to em’ speeches in the nineties worshipping racial quotas on stage with Cornell West.
However, the country at large was not aware of these happenings or had forgotten them. Those who didn’t know him from Adam now have this indelible image of an obnoxious would-be fist-pumping martyr seared, seared into their memories. He made an absolute ass of himself and he won’t be able to paper this one over.