You CAN be DF'd for not doing what an elder tells you, if the elder is a control freak (like the PO at my old cong) and pushes it!
I don't think Bill was overstating. The vast majority of people who watched that segment don't understand why a JW would even care what an elder told them to do about such an issue. The degree of control elders have over the congregations is the main issue here...prove that they can keep wrongdoing under wraps and intimidate people and you will convince the general public how warped this religion is.