Is he trying to lift the handle over the top instead of closing the umbrella for a moment until he can get through the door? Is it possible he is that much of a doofus?
Based on what we're looking at here, I'd give odds that he is. BTW, he doesn't even have to put the umbrella down, if he just tilts it diagonally a little it would go through.
He does not even have to close the umbrella. If he just tipped it to one side, he and the linebacker could walk under the gate with the umbrella. He really has no sense of spatial relationships...or anything else.