"wanted to keep his situation private, because he didn't want it to appear he was trying to get sympathy as his trial nears."
So by saying he wanted to keep the situation private, he really didn't want to keep the situation private, but it will appear he wanted the situation private, and thus, the original sympathy he was pretending not to look for.
That guy at the end spilled his Miller Lite. A wasted beer for an inaccurately clocked pitch that turned out not to be a record. Endless regret and infinite sadness.
With my team in one of their first pennant races of my young life, this was unacceptable. So my father would call the local Associated Press bureau each morning and ask what our team did the night before.