When Kevin gets arrested, the players, coaches, and other adults instinctively flock to his defense. He represents the town’s best aspirations, after all, so no one wants to believe that he could be justifiably accused, especially at a moment like this. It’s telling that he’s described as “vulnerable,” since that word indicates how, although he was the aggressor in the assault, he’s also in some ways a victim of the toxic culture that raised him.