He fucked up big time. I've been hit by a woman (due to breaking up a fight where she was getting wailed on and she turned on me) and I'll be honest, the initial reaction is to strike back. But you've got to walk away and take the L.
And if you're a budding superstar athlete? My god, you HAVE to be smarter than that. So I have little sympathy for him in the end.
That said, let's play devil's advocate and look at the other side:
a) Trying to squeeze into the bar is no crime. Everyone does this, all the time. I have never seen it been an issue in over 15 years of going to bars. There's no way you can say that action caused this.
b) I don't have a lot of sympathy for her either since she both started it, escalated it, and assaulted him first.
c) While I didn't react when I was hit, I was fairly sober at the time. This guy might have been legless drunk for all we know. That's no legal excuse, but it would explain his lack of restraint.
d) He threw one punch, didn't knock her out, didn't injure her in any lasting way. (Thank god, obviously.) It was a vicious punch from a ripped athlete, and thus I understand him being charged, but if I'm the guy's criminal lawyer I'm saying he responded to a punch, kick and possible racial abuse with a punch of his own in self defence - proportional. Not like he beat her up, pulled a knife or a gun. She punched, so did he.
e) We don't know what was said, and claims are flying around. Might have had a huge effect, who knows.
Still though, you're gonna come across assholes in life. Some might even hit you. You just gotta keep your fists by your side and move on. You have to.