OAKLAND — Overlooking a river of sewage and sidestepping broken glass on a concrete pathway connecting the BART station to the Coliseum, a few dozen A’s fans gathered before Friday night’s game to protest the team’s expected move to Las Vegas.
The rally, organized by a pair of fan groups in response to the A’s announcement that they agreed to buy land for a new ballpark in Vegas, started with just a few people holding cardboard signs around 5 p.m.
It was more of a small gathering than a protest, but as more fans crossed the bridge to enter the stadium closer to the 6:45 p.m. game time, many joined to express their frustration with the team’s expected move after 55 years in Oakland.
“There’s solidarity,” said A’s fan Chris Scott, who lives in the East Bay. “It’s a way to express our feelings and not just sulk and get walked on by a terrible ownership group.”
Scott was holding signs that read, “Sell #Fisherout” in a message to owner John Fisher, who took over full ownership of the team in 2016. Several fans held similar signs, including one that read, “Rooted in Oakland” with “Rooted” crossed out, a response to the team’s ironic slogan, which is still displayed in a banner across one side of the Coliseum.
“I feel anger and betrayal,” said lifelong A’s fan Keefe Mahar, who made the trip from West Sacramento. “But we’re used to this. It’s not like, ‘Oh this just happened.’ It’s been going on for 20-something years. We’ve been worrying about this moment for 20 years and it’s finally here.”
Friday’s game against the Reds was the A’s first game back in Oakland since announcing the deal with Las Vegas late on April 19, the last day of the club’s previous homestand.
“Coming back, we’ll see how the fans react,” said A’s infielder Jace Peterson. “Hopefully it’s good and hopefully they understand it has nothing to do with the players. We can’t control any of that. We’re here to get wins for them, play hard for them and put on a show for them. I’m sure they understand that. They’re upset and hurt, I’m sure. But it doesn’t matter what we think or what we say.”
There was some debate among the protestors as to whether or not they’d actually attend Friday’s game. The original plan was for them to stay outside the stadium but several fans said they’d probably go in.
As of an hour before game time, tickets were available on StubHub for as low as $3.
Mahar said he’d probably attend the game. He became an A’s fan due to his mother, Lorna Keefe, who died a few weeks ago. She was 73.
“My mom is – was – a big A’s fan,” he said. “We used to talk A’s baseball all the time. It’s weird, you feel like a jerk because it’s like, ‘Sure, this is just a sports team, big deal.’ But it’s more than that.
“So many people can relate. It’s a generational sport. People get into baseball because of who their parents or grandparents are rooting for.”
Mahar said the last game his mom watched was Opening Day, when the A’s beat Shohei Ohtani and the Angels, 2-1, at the Coliseum.
“So she went out on a good note,” he said. “As mad as I was when (the Vegas deal was announced), it happened a week or so after she passed. I was like, ‘At least she didn’t know about it.’ It gives you some weird comfort.”
At least a handful of the protesters made it inside the stadium and set up in right field, where they hung signs that said “SELL” and “STAY” over the wall while chanting, “sell the team” and some harsher chants directed towards Fisher.
A’s manager Mark Kotsay said before the game he understood the fans’ frustration.
“If you don’t have feelings for the fans right now, you haven’t been in this organization or don’t understand what the history of this organization is about,” Kotsay said. “We definitely understand what the fans are going through. Our mindset is that we need to perform and play the game, to give the effort and show the grit we talk about.”
The team’s deal to buy land in Las Vegas has not been a conversation in the clubhouse, the manager said.
“Our topic of conversation has been, how do we win more games?” he said.
The A’s entered Friday 5-21 and in danger of setting a new MLB record for most losses in the month of April with a three-game set with the Reds still remaining. The 1988 Orioles hold the record with 22 losses.
“All we can control is our preparation,” Peterson said. “I hate it for the Oakland fanbase. I know there are great fans here in Oakland. With the Warriors and the Raiders moving too, it’s unfortunate, but that’s the kind of stuff that we have no say in, we have no control over. It’s way above our pay-grade. We’re going to show up and work.”
With Oakland A’s back in town, fans hold protest in response to pending Las Vegas deal: ‘I feel anger and betrayal’ - The Mercury News
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