Credentials: Here today, gone tomorrow

There has been quite a bit of controversy with bloggers getting credentials for professional and collegiate sporting events.  So when I came across this article needless to say I was not surprised.  After over 20 years of loyalty to the New York Islanders, Chris Botta had his press credentials revoked.  Botta runs the Islanders bolg Islanders Point Blank, which is a site that covers everything  Islanders. Chris Botta was granted unlimited access to all of the New York Islander’s games and practices. This is a privilege that most bloggers will never get because independent bloggers are the least trusted media type.  

Fanhouse reports that after Islanders coach Scott Gordon was fired, Botta wrote on his blog that the team’s losing streak was not solely the fault of Gordon.   A couple of days later, Botta posted that the site would be shut down indefinitely, shocking his many followers.  The part that makes the least amount of sense is the fact that the Islanders rarely get coverage in any of the New York newspapers and the blog was a credible source for the few Islander fans that are left.  According to Red Light, the website averaged 1.5 million page views a month, so what was the issue for Garth Snow, Islanders GM?  

My opinion on the entire issue, is that Botta was bringing too much attention to problems that were deeper than coach Scott Gordon.  This is a statement from one of his blog entries on IslandersPointBlank.com:

“I can’t blame anybody. There’s serious financial issues there. This is a team … that is losing $15 to $25 million a year. Too many holes in that building, too many issues there. It’s been 17 years since they’ve won a playoff round”

Obviously this statement is one that would raise some eyebrows, but after 20 years of servitude, I do not think it is worthy of him losing his credentials.  For Gordon, the decision to get rid of Botta has garnered more bad press, which is not something that team needs right now.  Firing gotta was completely pointless, but it is the right of the team and not the NHL.  If it was a matter for the NHL, Botta would have been given back his credentials after the outpour of support that he has received from colleagues and fans alike.