I agree, HOWEVER, whatever reason that comes out, I'm going to be inclined to call bullsh!t.
Think about it...if a family member is sick, you come out and say it right away and everyone is sympathetic. We've all had sick family members, so that tugs on all our hearts (well, most of us, cough, irishpat, cough. Just kidding! kind of). If he had said so when he first heard about it and was having 2nd thoughts, the backlash would have been FAR less. There would have been immediate pressure for ND to let him out of his contract. ND recently let Alex Bullard transfer with no restrictions to be close to his family in Tennessee, so there is precedent.
Instead, because they have waited so long, it makes them look (at least to me), as if they are grasping for straws. Remember, this has been out there for almost 2 months; they are just acting as if it just started. It just smells way too fishy at this point for me to buy pretty much anything they are selling.
Sorry EV, like Jughead said...take your medicine. It's completely fair.
(BTW...you buy a me a beer at a tailgate and I'll tell you a pretty crazy story about a parent of a ND player basically begging media members to write a positive (false) story about their son who was leaving Notre Dame. No PM's LOL.)