You misunderstood it, perhaps I should have been more clear in what I meant. I didn't say he *is* hiding, I said he's being seen to be hiding, which to me at least implies he may or may not be encouraging somebody else to fight his corner.
Maybe he read it and then complained to her how upset he was, perhaps guessing there'd be a good chance she'd take it upon herself to make his case, maybe she read it and told him about it, which upset him and she then lashed out at the fans instead of asking herself it was a good idea to let him know what fans were thinking in the first place, who knows. It's a bad look either way and hardly instils confidence that he's a strong resilient character who can lead his team through a dark patch.