This would have been my approach as well, but I am over 40 and have some years under the belt. I was non confrontational as a young man and went from taking it to whooping some ass with nothing in between.
I can see his point of view. The team, teammates, no one wants to stand up and take my side so I will take my most valuable asset away to punish you....my play on the field.
Sadly I was more confrontational for others than for myself when I was young, I likely would have tried to help the kid out, but in his situation I would have likely had a blood bath and gotten a bad rep at that age.