To be perfectly honest, I interpreted the "no obligations to the team" part as if he does not like the team and/or head coach, then he does not have to run with them. Adam, to my knowledge, has not met Jason nor visited the school, and yet he is going there on blind faith that it is the best place for him, not just because it was his only choice due to money. Some people ride out bad situations with the team just because they have no other means of being able to stay in school. So if he does not like the school or the team or the coach, then to me, he expressed that he would not stick around if he doesn't like it.
And the kudos was to Jason for being able to convince Adam to attend Harvard without really ever visiting the place. For any American university to get an athlete of that caliber is huge, particularly with a school that is trying to rise up as a track and field program. I think the presence of Adam at Harvard will not just benefit the school but also the Ivy League because it shows that we can recruit these types of athletes and if Adam performs well, that we can train and teach them as well. Why can we use him to show how good this conference is at running?
I also feel that some of Adam's mentality towards the team will chance once he gets on campus and starts training with the rest of them. I do believe that Jason and Adam's coach will be able to work out a good compromise between developing Adam's talent and having Adam be a part of the team. After all, the track and field system is a different mentality in the UK as it is all about clubs (not school) and people needing to get their own funding to get the coaching and equipment they need, whereas American runners have easier access to such means if their schools can provide them.
Just my piece anyways. Sorry if people don't agree with me. But nevertheless, I am excited to see what Adam will do this upcoming year.