Chris Botta Credentials Pulled By Islanders Was Right Thing To Do

New York Islander Fan Central | 11/19/2010 12:53:00 AM | |


NYIFC announced Chris Botta content last here February was out at NYIFC, the New York Islanders waited nine months longer.

I debated even wasting an entry on this which is why it was released so late.

I emphatically support the teams decision to revoke his credentials for reasons I listed in February which he confirmed in September with an outright misrepresentation on the Islanders efforts to sign Paul Martin here writing general manager Garth Snow's efforts were staged, which Paul Martin's agent, completely refuted.

Our fans are desperate for coverage, but it needs honest reporting more. Never mistake one as a substitute for the other. Right or wrong, good or bad, regardless of teams record you are entitled to that much.

I know many are not getting that behind the Dolan's pay-wall, who have a track record a mile long of regulating/replacing media, which countless beat-writers have been outspoken about.

More and more Mr Botta did not give that to you, instead between his conflicting/contradicting viewpoints (which is his business) he again put his fans in the middle and you had to endure his personal complaints with the General Manager. When he had issues with Greg Logan and seemingly anyone who disagreed with him in the media the fans were placed in the middle.

Hockey did not come first, you did not come first.

Enough folks have told me of moderated comments by him, the one's agreeing with him standing, with others pulled or challenged, but it was your choice to engage in that forum and it belongs to him/sponsors.

Last March he made clear he would no longer request an audience with Snow, so last week he complained again and put his readers in the middle when he went through his AOL employer and was rejected for an interview request.

Scott Gordon still spoke with Mr Botta after being fired Monday, but the team paying him, who could have requested Gordon not do the interview, apparently had no reported issue. Mr Botta never got any thank you cards from Ted Nolan he decided to share.

Chris Botta has his media friends based on his Islander tenure over twenty years, no doubt the uninformed masses in North America media, who don't follow his blog or the hockey team will defend him (some half-hearted/others for page views on slow day) but few will write the truth because no one cares/knows about this stuff in general.

In NYIFC viewpoint the New York Islanders absolutely did the right thing by revoking his credentials, it was long overdue in my estimation. They team is far too easy a target for criticism with their current record, but where I sit this was something that had to be done if they were undefeated.

Don't tell me someone who writes Snow's efforts were staged regarding Paul Martin is providing honest journalism when the agent writes nothing was staged. Ben Hankinson does not owe anyone the time of day.

I debated the headline that day and could have wrote Botta lied in big bold letters for more attention, this blog wrote the truth and that was his claim was refuted, no more, no less.

If I wrote he lied I would be guilty of promoting the same sensationalism Botta creates, and immediately fold NYIFC.

Botta knows the standards as to when things are unfair, he used to write about them often himself here &
here when media or others crossed the line.

The continual innuendo, digs, shots, were going further and further over the line.

Mr Botta will win the PR war because it's a game the New York Islanders are not playing, nor do they have the media cache to ever play. Right now they are about their losing hockey team, but in the process what started out as an outstanding blog simply turned into something very different and unfortunate.

No doubt whatsoever the New York Islanders have taken the correct action. Mr Botta can play page view game, which he was very conscious of here he can go on every hockey program and make himself the story but it does not deflect from the facts, and that is his blog, one he claimed was because of your support, but became more and more about his issues with the New York Islanders.

Full disclosure: Mr Botta placed this blog in the Islanders blog box program for it's initial season under my guidelines of how I would do things. We shared contact via e-mail enough times during that time (also beyond) as a team employee he never told me what to write and was a first class individual.

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