Local reporter goes off on Oakland A’s owner

John Fisher, the Oakland A’s owner, has been the subject of some intense criticism over the years, but nothing quite like what happened this week. With the team gearing up to leave Oakland for a temporary stop in Sacramento before ultimately heading to Las Vegas, Fisher decided to write a letter to the fans. Maybe he thought it would help smooth things over. It didn’t.

ABC7 sports director Larry Beil wasn’t having any of it. He took Fisher’s letter and shredded it on air - not literally, but close enough. “A great work of fiction,” Beil said, his tone sharp with disdain. Fisher’s attempt to explain the A’s departure, filled with excuses about flawed stadium proposals and local politics, landed flat. And Beil made sure everyone knew just how out of touch Fisher’s words were.

Reading parts of the letter out loud, Beil’s sarcasm was impossible to miss. When Fisher claimed that he wished he could “speak to each of you individually,” Beil pounced. “Seriously? John, we’ve been trying to interview you for years,” Beil said. “But you always choose to remain invisible. Unless you’re begging politicians for public funding, then you’re out in front in Las Vegas.”

And then, Beil really dug in. He called Fisher a “serial penny-pincher,” accusing him of surrounding himself with “incompetent yes men” and pointing out that his cheapness has tarnished his family’s legacy. “John, you tried five different extremely flawed stadium proposals,” Beil said. “You never even got close to a shovel in the ground.”

Beil wasn’t finished. He compared Fisher to Joe Lacob, the owner of the Golden State Warriors, who not only managed to build a championship-winning franchise but did it by actually investing in the team and the city. The subtext wasn’t hard to miss: Lacob spent money. Fisher didn’t.

And now the A’s, a team with deep roots in Oakland, are packing up, headed for Las Vegas. But even that plan, Beil pointed out, isn’t fully baked. Fisher still doesn’t have a financing plan for the new stadium in Vegas. It’s like he’s jumping from one half-baked idea to the next, hoping something sticks.

Beil wrapped up his tirade by expressing a faint hope that other owners or the Players Association might step in and stop this move. But at this point, it seems like the only thing standing in the way is Fisher’s own knack for failure.