I don't have any particular knowledge in this area, but I have to wonder exactly what are the definitions of "amateur" and "professional" in this case? Having or not having a "day job" sounds like an easy place to start, but one can quickly get into aspects such as is the day job music related?, is it a part-time job, and if so how many days or hours a week? (does 20 hrs./wk. count? how about 5? where's the "line" drawn?), what about part-time or full-time volunteer work (takes time but doesn't contribute to income)?, etc. Then there's the question, at what point does one move from amateur to pro status? First paying gig? Paying gig with no day job? Intent to make most or all of living playing music? And how about (and what exactly is) a "semi-pro"?

This is a field where I see more of a continuum from absolute amateur to absolute pro, with many various shadings and branchings of these labels, rather than a clear-cut, black & white, one or the other distinction.

The rumored comments make the pros involved appear chauvinistic and ungenerous, in my view.