I am reading the abrupt announcement as an absence of trust they have in Sam. They must have felt that Sam would jeopardize the control of the board if he felt

I am reading the abrupt announcement as an absence of trust they have in Sam. They must have felt that Sam would jeopardize the control of the board if he felt threatened or severely undermined the mission of the non profit, for example by selling/transferring IP out of OAI to prepare his departure. Because their motivation was the fear Sam inspired them, they acted the way they did. Then, it's hard to justify actions based on suspicious.