Anger of Oakland Athletics Fans’ Reflects from Homemade ‘Sell’ Shirts in Reverse Boycott
Anger of Oakland Athletics Fans’ Reflects from Homemade ‘Sell’ Shirts in Reverse Boycott.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame will not escape the wrath of Oakland Athletics supporters and fans. According to the Mercury News, fan-created shirts worn during the reverse boycott will be permanently archived in Cooperstown.
The front of the shirts reads “SELL” in large, bold, green characters. The shirts were worn by fans at a June 13 reverse boycott.
This is a hugely successful event. On a Tuesday, almost 27,000 supporters showed up to the Oakland Coliseum to voice their opposition to the team’s owner, John Fisher, who is in the process of relocating the franchise to Las Vegas.
The crowd made its presence known by chanting “sell the team” repeatedly during the game.
While Major League Baseball has taken heat for ignoring angry Athletics fans, the National Baseball Hall of Fame is looking to embrace the moment.
The Mercury News quotes Jon Shestakofsky, the Hall of Fame’s vice president of communications and content, as saying that recording the protest’s reversal is crucial.
Ultimately, “we are here to document history and preserve that history as it relates to baseball and the game,” Shestakofsky explained. “That occurs both on and off the pitch, whenever a major accomplishment is achieved.”
The shirts will be archived in the Hall of Fame’s baseball memorabilia collection. Shestakofsky argued that recording fan feedback on the relocation process was crucial. He also assured the Mercury News that the organization’s goal was not to take sides but rather to preserve history.
At the game on June 13th, the Athletics gave away roughly 7,000 t-shirts to the crowd. Those who weren’t able to get a shirt but still want one can do so at Oaklandish.com.
The Athletics gave all of the money they made from the reverse boycott to charity. The group made significant progress in relocating to Las Vegas two days later. Governor Joe Lombardo of Nevada and the state legislature both gave their blessing to the change.
With those in place, MLB requires the consent of 75% of its owners for the relocation to take effect. Those votes will almost certainly go to the league, thus the departure of the Athletics from Oakland is only a matter of time.
