Good point, and thoughtful post. Thanks.
Major league sports do, indeed, handle the attention-seekers very well -- but of course their broadcasters are under control of the sports league because of their big contracts.
However, the news media are not under anyone's control (nor should they be) and their almost exclusive motivation is TV ratings and clicks online. So they focus on what brings in money. "If it bleeds, it leads!" is not a joke, and unfortunately it's not an exaggeration.
So violence, when it is present, controls the conversation for most people and thereby controls public opinion. The conversation changed over the weekend.
The conversation is no longer about hate, inequality, and working together. The dominant conversation is no longer "How can we make things better?"
The dominant conversation has been changed to: "Why are authorities tolerating this violence? Their first responsibility is to public safety. Why aren't they doing their jobs?"