Just before a midday baseball game last week, Joe Horton managed to do the impossible: He got even the most aggrieved Oakland sports fans to cheer for something.

At the Athletics’ new temporary home in West Sacramento, the Richmond resident embarked on a silent protest behind NBC Sports California’s in-stadium outdoor studio setup. As the broadcast of the A’s game against the Minnesota Twins aired live on television, Horton stood clearly in the background with the Hall of Fame-enshrined kelly green “SELL” shirt. 

“It’s just a suggestion to John Fisher and the powers that be to go ahead, make a bunch of money, save what’s left of their reputations, and sell a team that they clearly don’t care about,” Horton told SFGATE in a Wednesday phone interview.

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It was actually the fourth time he’d made this demonstration, but this one in particular got the most attention online because of the almost-immediate response he prompted from stadium security. What started as one staffer blocking the camera’s view of Horton and asking him to sit down turned into five after one commercial break. Security ultimately left him alone, but the spectacle at Sutter Health Park earned a write-up in sports media blog Awful Announcing and some social media attention.

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Fortunately, the 40-year-old UC Davis writing instructor knew how to handle the situation, because it wasn’t his first bout with security over his wardrobe. Horton knows he’s putting security in an awkward spot, so he makes sure to follow all of the rules. Nothing in the Sutter Health Park rules explicitly forbids that garment of clothing, but he avoids drawing more attention to himself beyond standing in frame of the broadcast feed. Most importantly, he makes sure not to interrupt the broadcast itself. To their credit, he says, the security staff pretty much always let him be, but not before he’s forced to stand his ground a little bit.

“I will say, they always start out with a very kind of tough attitude of, ‘You can’t do this. This is not allowed. You have to sit down,’” he says.........

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