If there was any statement to be made, "they" would've pulled out the American Staffordshire and Staffordshire Bull 1st before a plain old Bull Terrier. They may have some connection, but the Staffies are the 1s really of "pit bull" type. Certainly no average Joe would immediately tag the Bull Terrier as a "pit bull".
I would hope the chief consideration was merit.
But I have often heard people lump all the bullie breeds together. And one objection to the media hype is that they don't distinguish between different bullie breeds and also between mixes with some bullie in them.
As I was leaving Madison Square Garden last night I met a man who has a Bull Terrier from the same breeder as the winner. He was thrilled. He also commented that this was a positive step for the Bull breeds. He said he catches flack for his dogs too.