He seems like he might be a compassionate guy, especially if he has given that kind of money to families of kids who had no basketball talent. I will not totally condemn a guy IF this was a one-time case that occurred so long ago. That said, it still warrants his dismissal.
The story in the papers this morning said something about him giving the kid's family the money to help out with funeral expenses. No other details. In that context, $6K sounds about right. If he really wanted to pay the kid off to play ball here, 6 bills is probably on the low side.
That said, it still warrants his dismissal.
Yes, and he should know better. Any kind of monetary transaction between the school and the recruit is something they're going to nail you for. That's just the spirit of the age now in college athletics. They're not going to tolerate even the appearance of payoffs. It's one of the things (in addition to having a losing record) that got one of his predecessors (Ayres) in trouble.