I think there is a growing rift between the sprinters and distance runners. The sprinters get shoe contracts mostly with Nike and Adidas. Brooks (Bromell) and Asics (Candice Hill) only recently started trying to sign up sprinters and have largely focused on distance runners. But most of the top sprinters end up with Nike. Sprinters do not have a lot of other gadget and gear endorsements. They do not need Gu, GPS watches, and other things that sell well with recreational distance runners. So, they are not as wound up in the whole Run Gum fight. Also, the USATF leadership that the distance runners like to bash is primarily from the sprint community (Siegel, Hightower). And I am sure there is generally a feeling amongst sprinters that they are T&F and the distance runners and field events are just a side show to fill time between sprint events.
Of course, Phillips was way out of line with his tweets. But it does raise the issue of a sprint/distance rift that is bad for all of T&F. The bad actors at USATF are certainly aware of this and will do all they can to exploit it. They are probably loving the tweet battle and are hoping to see more friction between athletes. If athletes are united across T&F, USATF's bad actors are in big trouble. And that is the problem with the internet and social media. People say dumb things and the people responding just make things worse trying to do the right thing. I would hope that Fleshman would see that fighting with Phillips publicly is a zero sum game for athletes and a win for USATF. But on the internet, you are just one click away from using your better judgment (now I will click away).
