"Patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels." Seems like an appropriate quote for me to use to express my impression of your article. You are spot on about the hypocrisy of banning the protest in the name of patriotism and the reason the players are protesting in the first place.
The protests are for a redress of grievance and it's hard to imagine a better forum to protest: a stadium filled with tens of thousands of people, broadcast live to millions more.