I can certainly see where it could be divisive, more so today than a couple decades ago. IMO, he must be confident in his ability to handle himself in a fight or just not aware of the potential conflicts with some of his future comrades in arms this could generate.
I scanned the article, does it say where on his body the tattoo was located?
....never mind...
"....the Confederate battle flag on his shoulder."
People need to learn to get past the propaganda. They all migrated here from somewhere else. For instance the Navajo's came down from Canada. They also were nomads and had no specific area to call home. In fact much of the time they lived in Mexico as much as here. None of the tribes had any claim to boundaried off areas and all of them came from somewhere else.