Well, this is a video game. And in a game I want to have fun. Maybe some players can only have fun when they are in a superior position - so they need to grind and won't change gear for a fight at eye level.
Fair or unfair? It's the game. Funcom (in person Craig Morrison) made it this way. Most of the players who didn't like this developing have quitted. So the quoted dialog is not very surprising.
But yes, the game could be different. In my opinion gear does not need to make such a difference - or a difference at all in pvp. Why make advanced (i.e. "skilled") pvpers even more powerful by better gear? They should be able to prove theirselves in pvp without it.
And what about motivation for pvp without rewards? When I talk to other players about that, many of them answer they would not go to work without salary, either. So, they see this game as work? Man, it's a game, and we all play it in our free time and want to have FUN with it!
Everybody has to decide for himself what's fun for him. But one should not forget that in pvp there is a counterpart behind another screen who want's to have fun, too. Funcom sabotaged the basic concept of fairness in pvp by pushing aa-perks and better gear. But players play the game and don't need to follow these mechanics slavishly.