We don’t have multiple first hand accounts. All we have is second hand account being relayed by someone with a massive axe to grind against Shopify.
There are a lot of truly committed Rubyists at Shopify, particularly the one handling the relationship with Ruby Central.
The idea that Shopify had done what Joel aledges without a single one of the involved parties on the Shopify side blowing the whistle is preposterous.