I honestly don't know what else people expected from CR. They literally have a sponsorship agreement with DndBeyond, which is not just a branch of WotC, but it is THE branch of WotC which has been making all the statements about the OGL. I'm not much of an expert on sponsorship contracts (though if you want give me money to sponsor me, DM me!) but 100% they'd contain language preventing the sponsoree from loudly and publicly criticising the sponsor. The entire point of sponsorship is to ensure quite the opposite, in fact. And of course that's not to mention the various other agreements they have re Wildemount, Netherdeep, and who knows what else.
(Actually now I'm wondering a bit if this is why DnDBeyond has been the vehicle for WotCs communications on the subject - because it hamstrings CRs ability to criticise)