I have so much to say on this topic, but I'll try and keep it limited.
1) Mike Carroll is such an important part of skating. I don't think a lot of people understand (1) his importance to developing modern street skating and (2) how important the formation of Girl Skateboards/Crailtap was to the aesthetic that so many skaters pretend to care about. They made modern street skating and made it about skater values.
(2) I think people undervalue how important Girl Skateboards/Crailtap was to solidifying/creating peoples' careers. Yes, people like Marc Johnson, Alex Olson and Guy Mariano and so forth are very talented skaters. But there are a lot of talented skaters. What often separates star caliber skaters from others is there sponsors. In particular, the board company you rode for - and videos you were able to skate in - in the 1990s-2000s was the most important signifier of your marketability. It is what made these riders such big targets for the masses and targets for the big shoe companies. It was the platform. In MJ's case, it made him "cool" in skate parlance. I don't think some of the younger folks realize that Marc was always a very talented skater but that his move to chocolate/lakai is what made him "skate cool."
(3) Crailtap, more than any other company, has given its riders so much leeway to fuckup and do their own thing. Gino and Guy had substance abuse issues and were off their boards for years. Crailtap allowed them to come back and stay relevant. To lesser extent, Marc was also afforded the opportunity to fuck up (drinking) and stay on the program. A lot of other companies would have been quick to drop these guys. And in the case of Gino and Guy, as much as you and I may love them, when you dont skate for 5 years, most employers dont stick by you, and without that platform, you are just a great, former skate star. Even if you get second tier sponsors, it all starts to unravel.
(4) Carroll has always been very reserved. For him to pop off like this likely means that MJ just fucked up - big time. It sounds like Carroll was very cool with letting him transition to Adidas but wanted to do it in an appropriate way to keep the company - that supported Marc when he was drinking in the woods - rolling. Marc, for whatever reason, blew him completely off. Again, Carroll does not blast people like this on purpose. It's clear that MJ was a piece of shit.
(5) Carroll is an OG and SF/Daly City street kid. He's not gonna take this shit. For all the people bitching about "you shouldnt air this out in public," fuck you. Carroll not only got this guy on crail, gave him a platform, but then was totally willing to help him transition to Adidas. Did MJ keep "private?" Fuck no, he changed shoe sponsors on the big screen at the biggest video premier of the year. Basically, after all those years, he straight up lied to Carrroll and ducked him. Carroll, unlike MJ, is not an egomaniac or self-important; he's a stand up dude who's track record in skating and business speaks much louder than MJs mouth.
(6) While there may be a lot of reasons people have left, at least for the big shoe guys, its clear money was the big factor. This is not hard to see. Olson's reasons for leaving the brand were a bit different, as he has alluded to.
I ride with Carroll.