HC publicity. In the past, the HC was preceived as too "hash" on athletes, and the "guilty to proven innocent" perception, epically on football players.
With all the recent changes, if they just boot Neil, the perception might be, "the more things change, the more they stay same the same". But if he's cut some slack, even just a tiny bit. Then the HCO "looks" like changes are for real.
Just a thought...