And I don't need a football player's opinion on foreign policy. I can dismiss both equally but the OP seems to be suggesting in a way that the football player's opinion in this area carries weight, but the sports writer's does not...
This is the difference, I think. Part of Drew's job as an NFL player in the limelight is to perform public service, and one of the public services he performs is USO trips. Now when he comes back from one of those trips and is questioned by reporters, I would bet dollars to doughnuts some of those questions call for his opinion on what he's seen or heard. I suspect that's what happened in this case. It's not as if he came back from the trip and got on a soapbox and began to recite his opinions. No one asked Jeff Duncan for his opinion, but he felt compelled to give it. And in a snarky way. I don't think he should apologize to Drew, because he has a right to give his opinion. But I think it was out of place and ill-timed.