If he had not rolled over like a whore and stood up to them, he may have persevered.
Looking back, how would his final outcome have been worse if he had fired the coach and terminated the players?
When dealing with the Left, never apologize, never give in to their demands, always attack. Apologies will NEVER be accepted, they will take you down even harder, because they see you as being weak.
That's something I admire about Trump: he never backs down when somebody says they're "offended". And it WORKS!