“She is not telling the truth,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred brutally BLASTS Mayor Sheng Thao over relocation of Oakland Athletics to Las Vegas

As the MLB season rolls into the final regular week of play, teams have started to look out for their future. One team whose future is talked about most is the Oakland Athletics. The A’s are set to relocate to Las Vegas (while pending approval from other team owners). This saga between the A’s, their fans, and Commissioner Rob Manfred now has another chapter as he took a dig at the mayor of Oakland, Sheng Thao.

The word of the A’s moving away from Oakland has generated a lot of buzz. Manfred himself has under been the spotlight for his words regarding the team’s fanbase. The top boss has now blasted the mayor for her actions. Mayor Thao had reportedly offered proof to him during the 2023 All-Star break which claimed that the A’s had already agreed to a new ballpark before the news regarding Las Vegas came in.

The major for such a huge backlash regarding the move is that the city of Oakland has already lost sports teams in the past. The move of the A’s to Las Vegas will see the city lose another franchise. This is something that the fans and Mayor Thao wanted to avoid.

In a recent interview with the SF Chronicle, Manfred did not hold back from attacking Thao. The re-elected commissioner claimed that he think the mayor is not telling the truth. “It looks like she’s going to lose yet another franchise from the Bay Area. That’s unfortunate. That’s a tough spot to be in. But I think we’ve kind of gotten to the point where we need to point that she’s not telling the truth,” he said while slamming the politician.

Related: Former MLB player Scott Rolen’s scout among 17 ex-recruiters to sue Commissioner Rob Manfred in age discrimination lawsuit

Rob Manfred questions Mayor Sheng Thao handling of baseball situation in Oakland

While the relationship between Rob Manfred and the fans of MLB has always been a little damaged, his ties with Mayor Sheng Thao seem to be heading in an ugly direction. The commissioner of MLB along with Oakland Athletics’s owner John Fisher have been slammed time and again for agreeing to move the team away. Manfred has now ripped Mayor Thao and questioned whether she handled the whole affair well or not.

“I know everyone wants to pile on the A’s and pile on MLB. But I do think in fairness, people have to look at what Mayor Thao has done and not done. She’s great on ‘MLB did this wrong’ and John Fisher ‘did that wrong.’ Did she really handle this well? Don’t think so,” he said in the interview.

In their response to this statement, Thao’s chief claimed that the mayor has worked consistently to preserve the sport of baseball in the city. They further stated that it is up to the people to decide who they think is lying, Mayor Thao or Commissioner Manfred.

The other team owners will meet in mid-November and place their vote on this move. The A’s will need a minimum of 75 percent of the vote to agree with their move. They will be the third team after the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders and NBA’s Golden State Warriors to leave Oakland and relocate.

In case you missed it:

• MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred REGRETS not taking disciplinary action against Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, and other players during Astros sign-stealing scandal
• Pirates’ Bryan Reynolds CLAPS back at Cubs manager David Ross for harsh ‘bad team’ comments following series loss

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