Does getting defensive mean you have to be offensive? The actions of "DELTA" are not in question here, nor are the actions of anyone else that used their judgment in a manner that they saw fit. And I don't think anyone "gladly" accepted anything.

I was flying recently, in simlar circumstances, and aircraft at EWR were either circling to 29, or landing 22L. All based on individual decisions, all of which were made by equally competent crews, based on what they saw and heard. All without drama.

Noone's telling you that your guys are wrong, since we don't know their actual fuel status, or the full extent of their circumstances. For now, we will presume that they were in a position where they had a legitimate need to push everyone out the way, as they maneuvered back around.

Noone here is attacking Captain's authority, or American. I think most everyone here agrees they were right in demanding 31R, based on the reported winds during their approach. Some sky-genii here suggest demonstarted crosswind component is not a real limitation, but I think they're wrong in ignoring the liability. You land at or above max demonstarted when you have another emergency, and it's your only option.

Now, if you listen to the tapes, the reported winds were lower when the other aircraft accepted their clearances. So I don't see any evidence that anyone else on the tape did anything wrong, "gladly" or otherwise. The only question is whether they (the American 2 pilots) were correct in refusing the vectors and forcing the timing, and that's a question noone here can answer.