The Oakland Athletics have less than two months left in Oakland, and it’s shaping up to be one of the least graceful exits from a city in sports history.
A’s owner John Fisher and the rest of the stakeholders in the move have received countless criticism for their plans to move the team to Sacramento and then hopefully land in Las Vegas in 2028. The team is still Waiting for the demolition of the Tropicana Casino where they plan to build an opulent stadiumand are still negotiating with local leaders over public money.
Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Stephen Nelson, who also works as a “SportsCenter” host, joined the chorus of critics during the Dodgers’ game against the A’s on Sunday. He didn’t hold back, saying: He questioned both the execution and the morality of the measure.:
“It’s hard to believe this is happening, but you understand that this happens, right? Relocations are part of the sports business. It’s the third move when they go to Sacramento, the fourth will be the one to Las Vegas, if that actually happens. The Dodgers franchise knows that relocations happen, but the way this one happened is embarrassing. It should be, anyway, because the people running it apparently have no shame. They’re not experiencing embarrassment in any aspect. Cut payroll by 50%, Season ticket prices increase by 30% And you wonder why people don’t come forward? No, you don’t. It was apparently intentional, insidious in fact.
“You’re telling fans, ‘If you think you’ve had it bad, I’ve had it worse. ‘ Seriously? What about the hundreds of families, the thousands of people who will be affected by the work that will be lost by this move? Using the wrong logo for the promotional video, every step of the way, has been a disaster.”
Nelson went on to tell commentator Jessica Mendoza that one of his colleagues, former All-Star Dontrelle Willis, grew up in the area and considers the A’s to be instrumental in his MLB career.
It’s not often you see a team’s broadcaster so harshly criticize another team’s management, but the A’s have caused plenty of unusual situations by doing so. The criticism will only get louder as the A’s near their end in Oakland, and there are plenty of ways for this to go even further south.
The Dodgers beat the A’s 3-2 in Sunday’s game.