And to your second point, yes. If you're going to lie about something, the lie you tell should at least be rational. Under any circumstance where you're not subject to perjury, telling people you gifted $3 million of athletic department/donor funds is insane.
My thought is that if he hasn’t already privately told them, GT is just assuming any major donor can read between the lines to understand the $3 million was severance instead of a gift. I mean, the fact it is the exact same amount as the buyout is itself the equivalent of a wink while he says “Bill wasn’t fired.”
Of course it would have been smarter to avoid saying something obviously untrue, but I don’t think he can get in trouble for it since the AD doesn’t really have shareholders and does not receive taxpayer dollars.