Eh, maybe but that is a.) common but also b.) has nothing to do with them changing the name. They're changing the name because they don't want the character associated with that dude anymore.
'They' here are internal HR heads that care purely about the optics. They know more than you or me and let him go presumably without fear of legal retribution. The actual legal ramifications and your side quest about 'convicted by the public' isn't relevant to the character McCree in Overwatch being renamed.