The Oakland A's will play their final games at Oakland Colesium later this week. As the team prepares to move to Sacramento where they will wait for a stadium to be constructed in Las Vegas, owner John Fisher penned an open letter to the fanbase, which really annoyed a lot of people.
Among those completely unimpressed by Fisher's letter was ABC7 sports director Larry Beil who called the letter a "great work of fiction." Beil took a few minutes out of Monday's broadcast to pick apart Fisher and his letter saying A's fans considered his "explanation was both weak and long overdue."
Beil read parts of the letter with his voice dripping with sarcasm and annoyance. And then he went off.
"So you heard Fisher's statement," said Beil. "Let me tell you what reality is. OK? John, you tried five different extremely flawed stadium proposals, you never even got close to a shovel in the ground. Yes, Oakland politics is often a mess, I will give you that. But John, you surround yourself with incompetent yes men. And because you were born into a billionaire family, apparently never learned you have to spend money to make money. See Joe Lacob and the Golden State Warriors. Your buddy, who still wants to buy the team!"
"John, you're a serial penny-pincher," Beil continued. "You've destroyed your family's great name and legacy because of your cheapness. As for the statement about loyal A's fans, quote, I wish I could speak to each of you individually, end quote. Seriously? John, we've been trying to interview you for years, but you always choose to remain invisible. Unless you're begging politicians for public funding, then you're out in front in Las Vegas."
Beil hopes that other owners and the Players Association can still do something to stop this move, pointing out that Fisher still doesn't have a financing plan for the stadium in Las Vegas. Apparently, Oakland's greatest chance to keep the A's is ownership's addiction to failure.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Local Sports Anchor Eviscerates A's Owner Over Goodbye Letter.
