If I saw 20 articles pop up about my mod that directly violates TOS I’d also run for the hills. If journalists kept quiet it probably would’ve stayed up.
Even if he didn't do anything illegal, Sony has enough money and lawyers to hurt him. Unless a judge threw out any case early, he'd still have to defend himself, which cost money and takes time.
Might have been one of those, "dog that caught the car" moments, where it got a lot bigger than he ever anticipated and didn't expect all of the attention.