One day after the Nevada legislature passed a bill to fund a stadium for the Oakland A’s in Las Vegas, Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred upset fans with his comments to The Athletic’s Evan Drellich. 

“I feel sorry for the fans in Oakland,” Manfred said. “I think the real question is that, what was it that Oakland was prepared to do? They never got to a point where they had a plan to build a stadium at any site. And it’s not just [A’s owner] John Fisher. The community has to provide support and at some point you come to the realization it’s not going to happen.”

The comment comes on the heels of a “reverse boycott” held by A’s fans earlier this week, where nearly 28,000 fans (almost 20,000 more than their per game average this season) packed the stadium to voice their wish for Fisher to sell the team rather than relocate. 

Manfred also responded to the protest.

“It was great to see what is, this year, almost an average MLB crowd in the facility for one night.”