The Oakland Athletics have only been in Oakland for less than two months, and it’s shaping up to be one of the least graceful exits from a city in sports history.
Athletics owner John Fisher and the rest of the relocation stakeholders have taken endless heat 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 a lavish stadium, and is still negotiating with local leaders over public funding.
Los Angeles Dodgers announcer Stephen Nelson, who also serves as a “SportsCenter” anchor, joined the chorus of critics during the Dodgers’ game against the A’s on Sunday. He didn’t hold back when he questioned both the execution and the morality of the move:
“It’s hard to believe that this is happening, but you understand that it’s happening, right? Relocations are part of the sports business. It’s the third relocation if they go to Sacramento, the fourth is to Vegas, if that actually happens. The Dodgers franchise knows that relocations happen, but the way this one happened is shameful. At least it should be, because the people who run it are apparently shameless. They have no shame whatsoever. You cut salaries by 50%, raise season ticket prices by 30% and you wonder why people aren’t showing up? No, they’re not wondering. It was apparently intentional, insidious in fact.
“You’re telling fans, ‘If you think you’ve had it bad, I’ve had it worse.’ Really? And what about the hundreds of families, the thousands of people who will be affected by the jobs that will be lost because of this move? By using the wrong logo for the promotional videos, this has been botched at every step of the way.”
Nelson told commentator Jessica Mendoza that one of their colleagues, former All-Star Dontrelle Willis, grew up in the area and considers the A’s pivotal to his MLB career.
It’s not often you see a team commentator rail against another team’s management this harshly, but the A’s have created plenty of unusual situations doing so. The criticism will likely grow louder as the A’s near their end in Oakland, with plenty of ways for this to go even further wrong.
The Dodgers defeated the A’s 3-2 on Sunday.
