Credit to the Baltimore Sun for unearthing the following statement regarding Bret Hart's walk out, in protest of journalist Greg Oliver's recognition at the Dan Gable Hall Of Fame ceremony:

"Bret did, in fact, make his comments during his formal acceptance speech, which was in the evening; the less formal version, for fans, was in the afternoon. Bret is not the least bit concerned with what ranking Greg Oliver gave him. Greg is entitled to his opinion, like anyone else. For Bret to have been upset about how Oliver ranked him would have been petty, as some here have posted, but that is not, in fact, the case. Bret feels that Greg Oliver's books often present the writer's own opinion - (not just about Hart) as fact and that blurs the line of responsible journalism. Bret told me that recognizing Greg Oliver with an award provides him with a "credential" upon which other credentials can be built; a few years from now Greg would appear to have a 'wall of credentials' and would be called upon ( more often than he already is) as a wrestling expert by the mainstream press, like Dave Meltzer is now. And so, then someone who presents his own opinion as fact would have too much power to further distort an accurate account of the history of pro wrestling. Bret is passionate about a truthful account of pro wrestling being preserved for generations to come, no matter how he is portrayed, as long as it is factually accurate.

Bret's perceived difference between Greg Oliver and those "like him" from Meltzer, for example, is that Oliver is in it for the wrong reason; recognition. During the afternoon event, while I was busy handling an autograph session where Bret and Roddy were signing, Greg Oliver gave me a copy of his latest book to give to Bret (The Heels), but then he said, "Oh wait, let me sign that for him before I give it to him…" and he did. So, basically, Greg autographed his book for Bret. Bret feels there is some degree of audacity in that as Greg is supposed to be the reporter, not the participant. Dave Meltzer, whose landmark publication is even named The Observer, defines himself as such, without the attached ego. He was a journalism major and has, over the years, displayed objectivity and detachment from outcome which is lacking on Oliver’s reporting, and he, "…at least attempts to get it right…", according to Bret.

Bret doesn't have any problem at all with a deserving journalist being honored and inducted. He just felt that Stu would have been honored to be inducted into this particular hall of fame because it is rooted in amateur, not pro, footings and the past inductees are all distinguished and deserving people who had sacrificed much for the love of wrestling and for the business. He felt that Greg Oliver doesn't fit that bill in that he hasn’t paid his dues and doesn't report or write with objectivity.