It is because he is no longer focused on the SteemIt platform, they haven't been dishonest about that.
I know :-(
Still the fact that they haven't been dishonest about it, doesn't really justify the action. Steemit.com is the most valuable application built on the Steem blockchain. It's the unbeatable no. 1. We all know that it's still a baby that has their childhood diseases, but as long as nobody wants to fight them, how might it ever start to grow?
Now my question is: why not addressing these issues first, make the no. 1 reference (the store sign for Steem) a shiny, successful, desirable, fast growing pilot project - and THEN start building new ideas on top of it?!?
It's as if Steemit.com had become an annoying albatross around the neck.