Would he have “chosen” to be accelerated as a 4 year old if he’d known it could prevent him from achieving his athletic goals? Obviously he didn’t “choose” that — his parents did. So why can’t they, and he, together decide to undo it? If he still doesn’t make D1, at least he’ll know he gave it his best shot, instead of always wondering how things might have been different if only his parents hadn’t put him in school a year early. And given that he is already competing at a level that is “beyond varsity level,” he may have more than a “small chance” at D1. And an extra year to mature as a student may improve his academic stats as well. If he is targeting elite schools, D1-level athletics plus top academic stats opens up a lot of options.
There are literally thousands of high school athletes in the US whose parents redshirted them before they even started school, enrolling them in K as 6 year olds. There are many many homeschooled athletes who “repeat” a year sometime before HS, and many other athletes who either do a “super senior” year or a gap year. It’s not uncommon for college athletes to turn 20 (or even 21) during freshman year. This kid just wants to be a NORMAL 18-19 year old college freshman, with a shot at D1 athletics, and people are acting like this is the worse idea they’ve ever heard.