The fan exodus is not a ‘misunderstanding’. These former fans understand the ‘meaning’ quite well.
Scott is being diplomatic. By phrasing his point that way, he has a chance of meeting anyone on the other side halfway. He has a chance to convince them to move away from the divisive approach to something productive. The problem is that a productive approach requires recognizing the problem, and that is thug culture, not the police. No one on the Ctrl-Left wants to admit that.