because he spent that entire article telling us how great he was at rationalizing selling out. he pretty clearly had enough practice that he could've handled one last rationalization.
as far as judgment, i don't consider attempting to predict someone's behavior a judgment. i didn't say "he is an awful person". that'd be judgment. i was implying, though, that you shouldn't be impressed by his turning down $16k. the only thing that tell us about him is that his price is above $16k, and below $200k/yr.
and, there was no giving up of his job, in the end. i quote: "I was not surprised the day I lost my job."