I'm a contributor, but I don't consider myself major enough to have earned the right to call myself part of the team. I've also volunteered community-side since before MAME even existed.
People are very pushy and demanding, and it's been a long term issue. It doesn't help that on top of this, you've got a few repeat individuals with long histories of abusive demands.
Consider it a line drawn in the sand now, saying "Look, I've been abused enough. Cross this line at your own risk."