It may be less of an issue in Asian countries, but in Western countries, there are a lot of narcissists who jump on any opportunity to flaunt status symbols. The Novice Network is about helping new players learn the ropes, but the crowns presently used to signify Mentor-status are drawing all the wrong sort of people.
They aren't there to help, they're there to stand out and stand above the novices. Many are derisive of new players and some even ban other players for little more than not liking them or having petty disagreements. Changing the icon to something more mundane won't eliminate the problem, but it's a starting point to simply change the tone of the heraldry used to distinguish Sprouts and Mentors.