He obviously should've considered the possible consequences beforehand,
but once you've well and truly screwed the proverbial pooch, what's one's backbone to gain by groveling ?
If his family loves him, they might be pissed for awhile, and eat more beans etc, but they'll stand behind him and they'll all be ok in the end.
How do you know they'll all be OK in the end?
Who is going to hire him now and subject themselves to the angry mob?
Keep in mind, this happened in Texas.