KNBR recently let go of Greg Papa, a longtime Bay Area broadcaster and the lead play-by-play voice of the San Francisco 49ers, along with Papa & Silver co-host Greg Silver as part of a midday shakeup that features the return of veteran host John Lund.
This is while Papa has been battling a number of health issues, including rehabbing two collapsed lungs that resulted from a bone marrow transplant earlier this year, but he explained last week that he hoped to continue doing his radio show.
The decision by KNBR to let go of Papa led to plenty of criticism and questions.
Cumulus Media owns KNBR and released a statement from the KNBR X account on Friday night about the Papa decision.
— KNBR (@KNBR) August 8, 2026
“For decades, Greg Papa has been one of the defining voices of Bay Area sports radio. His knowledge, passion, and connection with his listeners helped shape KNBR into what it is today, and his contributions to the station will not be forgotten.
“We’re not able to comment on the specifics of his departure, but we want to be clear about this: our respect and gratitude for everything Greg has given to KNBR, its listeners, and its team runs deep. We are continuing to explore ways we can bring his voice back to the station, and we wish Greg strength, healing, and a full recovery.”
And that statement is also not going over very well on social media.
Not sure who is head of PR at Cumulus, but my God they had their head up their collective ass on this one.
— Jerry McDonald (@Jerrymcd) August 8, 2026
KNBR has got to figure out how to break away from Cumulus and starts it’s own independent media company https://t.co/y9emN8b836
— Brad (@Graham_SFN) August 8, 2026
Let’s be clear about something with Cumulus Media:
There is no reason, no explanation to layoff an employee who spent the past year fighting cancer. Zero.
Greg Papa is and will always be a Bay Area legend, and laying him off because your company is $592 mil in debt? Shameful. https://t.co/YtiCZeBPKx pic.twitter.com/lb8kY9HaaJ
— 49ersHub (@49ersHub) August 8, 2026
They’re getting letters. https://t.co/VoEfnZ69P2
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) August 8, 2026
No statement may have been better than this. https://t.co/XX4sSjmL5f
— Daniel Poulter (@DanielJPoulter) August 8, 2026
Papa signed a new multiyear deal with KNBR in April to remain the play-by-play voice of the 49ers alongside Tim Ryan. Fair and Biased with John Lund will fill the KNBR midday slot from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. PT.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at Awful Announcing and The Comeback.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@awfulannouncing.com.