I would think this is the truth. I'm sure it's a mix of both but a lot of parents are desperate to get their kids funded.
Also you don't want to be blackballed.
Most scholarships are only one year and partially funded at best - so if you make a lot of noise, and you are not a top-tier talent, you will be quickly labelled as 'more trouble than they are worth' and all of a sudden you don't have anywhere to play at all. You don't want to be the squeaky wheel with your kids college years only a few months away and there is no guarantee that you are going to get any offer. This is how colleges/NCAA get away with this - they have all the leverage.
That is how it normally goes:
- You get told (or find out) that the college is not going to honor their verbal agreement
- You panic.
- You desperately run around trying to get recruited by anyone who showed even vague interest in you before you thought you had committed.
- You can generally find somewhere because there are PLENTY of other players in the same situation in that window before signing - and hey, maybe you can push someone else aside if you are good enough.
- You get an offer and tell everyone that your DD changed her mind and decided to attend "new school"
- No one evens knows that a verbal was withdrawn except a few people who don't want to talk about it
This is how it can go:
- You get told (or find out) that the college is not going to honor their verbal agreement
- You blast the school/coach on social media, online forums, etc
- No one returns your calls and you start getting calls from lesser and lesser teams who see a chance to maybe get a talent they normally wouldn't get to but know you may now be desperate.
- Your DD walks on somewhere local, attends the local CC or just doesn't play any more.