If he had fessed up and proclaimed "I f'd up" the reaction would be different.
That may hold true for some contributors but for me it doesn't. One thing I've learned is to go by people's actions, not by what they (or others) have to say about them.
More or less agreeing with Smithy: it's easy enough to have an opinion post-factum. Opinions are plenty, and cheap. Especially since the days of internet.