“If they did that then the people angry about the kneeling will still be angry because aren’t stopping it”
I don’t think so. Many people would understand why they weren’t stopping it.
Taking a side would have been better. As it is, both sides hate them.
No they wouldn’t. Just look at your own reaction. The players would still be doing it, and folks would be hammering the owners for allowing themselves to be powerless. From a business perspective taking a side, especially when you can’t ACT, is generally a huge mistake. Just look at Papa John, he took a side, then didn’t like who was agreeing with him, took another side, tanked sales, and got fired. When in doubt the best business move is shut up and let the news cycle do it work and move on to another subject. Really their plan was working great until Trump re-roused the rabble. Less than a dozen players took a knee in week one and nobody paid any attention to them, it was a dead topic until it wasn’t.