He doesn't have to fight here, although he's the one who started this whole thing as far as going after him in the corner.
But you can't just stand there and be okay with your teammates coming to your defence and you just laugh about it. We've seen this movie, I've seen this time and time again with Auston. Playing the cool card doesn't work, it doesn't float. It may look cool on social media, but in that locker room, at some point it will wear thin.