Whoops, we did it again.........

What did we do again? Our job, that's what.
As I was pushing into a $2-5 blind NLH game on table 9, I saw the 3 seat push a stack of red chips ($100) to the 5 seat who had just been busted. As the previous dealer was getting out of the chair, I asked her if she saw it. She had. She had apparently already told those two that they could not do that. She went to get the floorman. He came over and reiterated that table stakes applied and that they could not pass chips. The 3 seat brought $100 out of pocket and the 5 seat was back in business........for about 3 hands....and then he was busted again. He was the proverbial fish at that table. No more money came out of pocket and the 5 AND three seat left the game. The 3s took about $1200 with him. The rest of the players at the table were pissed at the previous dealer for enforcing the rule. Of course they wanted that $100 and another $100 and another $100 to be in the possession of the aquatic creature. I jumped right in and told them that if she had not informed the floorman that I would have done it. That put me right at the top of their shit list too.
Now it gets hairy and scary. I presented this situation to three others in positions of authority and their answers were, grudgingly and hesitently, that it should not happen, but it sorta, kinda, depended on the situation. IMHO not the right answer. A few of the players said that they did not care. One in authority, when I said that I thought that my job was to protect the game replied, well what if the game did not WANT to be protected?!?!
The 3s did not have everyone else at the table covered.
What if one of the players DID want the rule to be enforced but was not comfortable speaking up? What if, on the next hand the 3s went all in and lost? The winner of that pot would have been entitled to $100 that he would NOT have gotten.
One of the things that I have always struggled with in life has been grey areas. I like things in black and white. I can live with a few players being pissed at me, but I guess I need to start thinking about looking the other way at certain times.........maybe I can get used to living with that too.