A’s protest: ‘Sell the Team’ chants break out at MLB All-Star Game

(KRON) — An Oakland A’s fan group planned a protest at the MLB All-Star Game in Seattle Tuesday night. During the fifth inning of the game, “Sell the Team” chants rang out at T-Mobile Park.

The group, called Oakland 68s, passed out cards that said “Sell the Athletics” and outlined the plan for the protest. You can hear the chants in the video above.

The chants were hardly audible during FOX’s broadcast of the game, as the telecast cut to an interview with Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani while fans chanted.

When A’s All-Star outfielder Brent Rooker came up to the plate in the sixth inning, the chants started again. Rooker roped a ground-rule double to right field.

It is the latest protest organized by Oakland fans after news broke in the spring that the team’s ownership intended to relocate the franchise to Las Vegas. On June 13, A’s fans drew national attention by packing the Oakland Coliseum for a “reverse boycott.”

The group met at a Seattle hotel at 2 p.m. before the game Tuesday. They passed out “Sell the Athletics” cards and implored people to wear “Sell” shirts.

In addition, the group explained to fans why it believes A’s owner John Fisher should sell the team. T

“I think we’ve been planning this since two weeks ago, because we thought it would be a great opportunity to let (MLB commissioner Rob) Manfred hear our chants and voice our opinions on the situation,” said Jorge Leon, who is one of the people leading the protest.

The back of the cards being handed out described the protest planned for the fifth inning of the game. They instructed fans to stand up for the first at-bat of the top of the fifth inning and to stay silent throughout the at-bat. After it ends, the card called for “Sell the Team” chants to break out.

The protest will not be the first time A’s fans make noise during MLB’s All-Star week. When the A’s selected Grand Canyon shortstop Jacob Wilson with the No. 6 pick in Sunday’s MLB Draft, Manfred’s voice was drowned out by fans chanting, “Sell the Team.” Fans chanted as Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia came to the plate.

Leon says the end game for the group is for someone from the Bay Area to buy the team from Fisher.