Why do victims protect their aggressors in this way? The captain made a wrongheaded decision, and he should at the very least have his name attached to it.
Legal liability. The author could be sued for defamation of character if any of the details are wrong, or in the case that a truthful account emphasizes negatives over positives, something called "false light". Some readers may find this hard to believe, but it's true:
Basic human decency rather.
"Bob isn't so bad -- after all, it's said that he's stopped beating his wife."
As the article its self said, from the captain's perspective he was likely always going to believe a FA over a pax, in particular if the FA claimed the pax wasn't being cooperative.
Now if the quotes were accurate I think the captain was quite rude, but we really don't know what the FA said to the captain, maybe he got the impression the guy was being a massive ass.
But regardless, the author was very professional for not releasing the name. It adds nothing to the story. It would just be petty revenge.
It's interesting that you seem to be claiming the captain wasn't an aggressor, but then believe that giving his name to his actions would be "petty revenge."
Edit: Reference. RULE 21 REFUSAL TO TRANSPORT in United's Contract of Carriage [1] outlines UA's right to "remove from the aircraft at any point, any Passenger for the following reasons". The reasons are, as you would expect, broad and vague, essentially giving UA cover to remove anyone from the flight.
The one I expect they would cite in this instance is:
H4: "Passengers who, through and as a result of their conduct, cause a disturbance such that the captain or member of the cockpit crew must leave the cockpit in order to attend to the disturbance;"
Other fun conditions that UA have felt the need to enumerate:
21:H5 Passengers who are barefoot or not properly clothed;
21:H16 Passengers who have or cause a malodorous condition
[1]http://www.united.com/web/format/pdf/Contract_of_Carriage.pd...
Kudos to the blogger for not exposing these people to internet anger.
I do not know the US law in that case, but in Germany, the captain then could go to court on terms of "wrong accusation" and the OP would have to prove his accusations.