My take is, Sam and Greg are not the executives they want people to think they are. This was recognized, and they got upset because of this, and things shook out this way.
Over the past decade, I've never heard a single bad thing about Sam or Greg from anyone who has worked with them.
The board may know something nobody else does, but I think (given the current information) it's significantly more likely that they _are_ who they purport to be... it's just that the board wanted something different.
I've worked directly with Sam on a few projects, and was always impressed by how thoughtful and empathetic he was. I've worked with a number of smart, wealthy people, and Sam is the only one I'd say that about.
