The Oakland Athletics have reversed course on their controversial decision to cease payments for their minor league players.
A's owner John Fisher said Friday that he "made a mistake" and will pay the organization's minor leaguers their $400-a-week stipend for the remainder of what would've been a typical minor league season. Those players will also be paid retroactively for this week.
The A's had informed their minor leaguers on May 26 that they would not be paid after the month of May. The organization faced backlash because of it, a sentiment that only grew while they became the only team to make such a decision.
Many -- including the A's own minor league players -- believed it would greatly impact Oakland's ability to sign undrafted free agents after this year's shortened draft.
The A's previously furloughed about two-thirds of their player-development staff and the vast majority of their scouts, but Fisher -- who is worth $2.2 billion, according to Forbes -- has now established an emergency assistance fund for those furloughed employees.
"After spending the last few days listening to the important input from our fans and others, we will immediately begin paying our minor league players," Fisher said in a team-issued statement. "These players represent our future and clearly our decision to not pay them was a mistake. The truth is that we got this decision wrong, and I apologize to our minor league players and others involved."