ESPN SportsCenter host Nicole Briscoe said what many Oakland Athletics fans have been saying for years about team owner John Fisher.
But given she was on national TV, she had to employ a euphemism to describe a scatological act.
On the SC@Night edition early Friday, Briscoe ripped the Athletics for their plans to spend the next three seasons in Sacramento while they await a new $2 billion ballpark in Las Vegas.
The team announced earlier this week it will play in the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats stadium, a decision that angered many A’s fans and puzzled baseball observers. Chants of “Sell the team” are already common at Athletics home games, and fans even held a “reverse boycott” in 2023, where they filled the stadium with signs and calls for Fisher to do just that.
A’s fans are furious, and Briscoe doesn’t blame them. She compared the experience A’s fans are going through to the period when she suffered two torn ACLs and her two children were sick on her birthday.
“Then there is whatever the A’s are doing because they’re you-know-what-ing all over a fan base that has supported what has been four years now the worst franchise in baseball — but sure, peace out, Oakland,” Briscoe said. “Three years early for like $11 million a year in favor of a minor league ballpark in Sacramento that is literally 49,000 seats smaller than the Coliseum. Do the math! And it’s also lacking more than a few other amenities that actual major leaguers might consider requirements!”
https://twitter.com/BenRossTweets/status/1776144041857499297
Fans hailed Briscoe for her comments.
Props to @espn for lighting the match on A’s ownership telling it like it is. https://t.co/MYtu7uj8tW
— Steven Garcia (@TvCamguySteve) April 5, 2024
Love what @RB_Mrs said.. A’s fans thank you.. #SellTheTeam https://t.co/XpIPMzeBTv
— A’s Kang (@avjeetkang) April 5, 2024
When will @MLB look at this and say enough. It’s comical how bad this is optically. https://t.co/860jpEp9Zk
— Will Dickerson (@wbdickerson3) April 5, 2024
It’s not the first time a SportsCenter host has blasted Fisher. After MLB owners voted in November to approve the team’s move to Las Vegas, Scott Van Pelt criticized Fisher, saying, “Ownership has done all it can do to make this positively awful.”
[Mediaite.com; Photo Credit: SportsCenter]
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.