They let Abe hold on to the stipend the other players had gotten because they bought his sob story. It wasn't because he was a superstar this team absolutely needed. In fact, he pretty much stunk. If it happened at Syracuse, Louisville, Kentucky or North Carolina, no one would have batted an eye.
For f... off and die, when I wrote "Lavin was a truth teller" I was referring to what he told prospective recruits...not the LALA land mantra he handed us.