Groups are great and they help people create a sense of community. Sometimes those groups take on certain identity characteristics that turn what would normally be good into something that can be bad under the right circumstances (i.e. when someone wants money or is willing to manipulate them.) When such behaviors become embedded into the value system of the group it can be hard to dislodge even when such behaviors are destructive and in hindsight they come to recognize they made a mistake (Most people feel they make mistakes when there are consequences but not while they are engaging in the behaviors themselves. Few have an internal value system that can guide them to adjust on the "fly". Members might talk about values but for most these appear to be surface professions.)
Let us take an example. A group was told intentionally false information (It actually doesn't matter if it is false or true) and they acted on that information without fact checking. That means they are easily manipulated with information and emotions (The essence of manipulation. You can find this in different groups that become increasingly aggressive without actually being in harm's way. People outside those groups are dangerous while those within the group share some core identities.). When I say act they engaged in coordinated group aggression that ranged all over the map from rudeness to high aggressive behaviors that targeted children and could have led to violence (Most did not but it only takes a couple and some seemed like they were trying. Perceived power dynamics should not be the deciding factors in values.)
While they had no legitimate reason to hate the targets they did so because of the deeply held social hierarchy in which they live and the false perceptions of Muslims, Blacks and likely others. They may have become accustomed to judging and acting towards others based on these rigid social structures and false images of self importance. How such groups develop and form their opinions is an interesting social networking affair (In marketing you can track how opinions are shared and formed.).
A problem arises when they target someone who doesn't live by those same social structures and they misjudge the person's past, values, and resolve in such situations (i.e. meaning their distorted network forced them to misjudge and act aggressively as a sign of a cultish vantage point. I have lived with lots of different types of people and mediocre sports players cannot really judge properly or use a lower hierarchical system on a higher framework.). That is the problem with cults and those engaged in extremist type behaviors (Not all are but there are elements of extremism by some members. Keep in mind they told me they were targeting my family because we were Muslim and very liberal with the use of "niggars". Those within the group only need to step back and really think about how others are perceived and how they seem to judge and devalue people outside their group. The more different the people, the more they devalue them.). They can't judge others accurately because they can't judge themselves accurately.
Likewise, the sheer ability to "go after" someone and their family simply because they were told to do so also means they do not have healthy boundaries (either theirs or others). The blind being led by the blind or the mental slavery of distorted forms. It becomes easy to hate others when its sociably acceptable. How such a groups move from sports supporters to hate supporters is an interesting open question.
Many of these people live by their sports identities and are teaching kids (Their kids and other people's kids) about sports, life, values and sociably acceptable behaviors. It opens some big questions as to what values they are teaching the formative generations. They seemed to be subjective in their beliefs of which people and kids have value and which don't (Different rules for different types of kids and kids within certain social networks.)
Challenging such behaviors is important to develop a better path forward for them, the community and more importantly the targets (These/us or others.). That can be done with empathy but it won't be done with sugar coating. The behaviors were destructive and dangerous and should not be allowed to happen again without serious consequences. I would think a level of accountability of those who caused the problem (i.e. mandatory mental health) and an adjustment in the distorted sports culture is needed to ensure they aren't socializing the next batch of kids to un-American values.
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