Gregg Giannotti torches ‘bad teammate’ Brandon Tierney: ‘People hated working with that guy’

Brandon Tierney may have left WFAN on good terms last year, but he appears to have built an enemy in morning host Gregg Giannotti.

Tierney joined WFAN’s midday show with Evan Roberts and Tiki Barber last week to preview St. John’s ahead of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. During Tierney’s appearance with Roberts and Barber, he referred to Giannotti as a “bad teammate” because of a prank call. Giannotti heard the bad teammate allegation from Tierney, and he took it personally, going off on his now former WFAN colleague Monday morning.

“Everybody that worked with Brandon couldn’t stand him…people hated working with that guy. He’s the bad teammate. He would trash his producers. He would belittle them. So don’t tell me I’m a bad teammate because you can’t take a joke” – Gregg Giannotti on Brandon Tierney pic.twitter.com/JB0lpPBGqT

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 23, 2026

“I was told that BT pressed very hard to have a St John’s appearance on the radio station,” Giannotti revealed. “Pressed star program director Ryan Hurley very hard to get on the radio station. The radio station that he thinks stinks now…He really had to get on the radio station to talk St John’s because I guess WFAN still matters. But it doesn’t on his podcast.”

The year-old prank call that led to this back-and-forth between Tierney and Giannotti occurred after St. John’s was knocked out of the NCAA Tournament last March. Giannotti called Tierney’s radio show with Sal Licata to jokingly accuse him of drinking with St. John’s players after they won their first round game last year.

Tierney had previously said he celebrated with some of the basketball program’s staffers, which was misconstrued by radio listeners, prompting Giannotti’s prank call idea. A prank call that Tierney just found out came from Giannotti. And Tierney understandably had a big issue with Giannotti adding anything to a false story about him drinking with college athletes.

“He said that I was implying that he was drinking with the team and that’s being a bad teammate. His take on that is exactly the reason why he couldn’t cut it here,” Giannotti said of Tierney, who was let go by WFAN last December to make room for a returning Craig Carton. “He is someone who takes things way too seriously. He can’t laugh at himself, and he doesn’t get it. And if he did, and he showed a little bit more personality and could laugh at himself, maybe he would have had more success here.”

Giannotti proceeded to call out that he defended Tierney and Licata during their feud with Carl Banks a few years ago, noting he was the only person on the station willing to step up and display that support.

“A bad teammate is the exact opposite of what I am,” Giannotti said, encouraging people to ask all of his past and current colleagues. “Everybody that worked with Brandon couldn’t stand him…people hated working with that guy. He’s the bad teammate. He would trash his producers. He would belittle them. So don’t tell me I’m a bad teammate because you can’t take a joke”

And while on the topic of bad teammates, Giannotti went on to accuse program director Ryan Hurley of similarly being one for letting Tierney use WFAN’s platform last week.

“Our program director is also a bad teammate for putting him on and caving in that situation. Being essentially a marshmallow speed bump. That was ridiculous. Should have never happened. Honestly, like, if you had any balls at all, you would say no,” Giannotti ranted. “[WFAN] gave you an opportunity to goodbye shows, and promote your stuff. Then you go on and you co-sign dumb ass Joe Benigno’s comments. Now we’re gonna let you back on the radio station to promote St John’s because you begged? More decisions like that, he [Hurley] won’t be around at all. It’s ridiculous. Have the backs of the people that are here.”

Hurley and Tierney worked together earlier in their careers at ESPN Radio in New York. He has been WFAN’s program director, or brand ambassador since Spike Eskin left for an on-air role with WIP in 2024.

Just like that, WFAN is now experiencing some of its biggest internal drama in years. And surprisingly, it doesn’t involve Craig Carton or Mike Francesa.