justbaseball,
I admire your stance on this subject. However, I also believe there are certain circumstances when it is best to break a commitment. I think even you would agree.
To go a bit overboard... Lets say safety was a concern. I only thought of this because of another topic "Winter Ball" on this sight.
A few years ago nthe White Sox and some of their players committed to play winter ball for a club in Venezuela. Those players and the White Sox left early due to concerns about the safety of those players. This was a broken commitment, it put that club in a pinch, but for reasons that are understandable.
I know that is a far fetched example, but where do we draw the line as to when a commitment can or even should be broken.
Everyone has their own definition regarding the reasons, but I think most anyone would break a commitment for some reason.
So it gets down to why rather than whether you break a commitment. While some might look down on it, these are all individual decisions made by the player, his parents, the college coach and even the college itself. If it is important enough... people will change their mind about certain things.
No it might not make it right, but what is right can be up for debate. People make mistakes and sometimes the only way to make things "right" is by changing things. I understand that might not be the case with you and as I said before, that is an admirable trait. I would think that people who honor their commitments in every case are very rare.
I do think commitments should be well thought out without any intention of breaking them. Honesty is of great importance. But what I honestly think today might be different than what I think tomorrow.