On Thursday’s episode of KNBR’s Papa & Lund, co-host John Lund launched into a screed against the Las Vegas Raiders over the way they’d treated co-host Greg Papa, a former Raiders radio broadcaster, during a recent trip to cover a joint practice involving Vegas and the San Francisco 49ers, for whom Papa currently calls games on the radio.
By Friday, Lund’s rant had been scrubbed from KNBR’s social media channels and podcast feeds, though no specific reason has been given.
Per Lund, Raiders staff had restricted some of Papa’s access to the field and Raiders facility during the joint practice, presumably due to bad blood involving owner Mark Davis. Papa was let go by the Raiders before the 2018 season and the broadcaster has since speculated that it was because he criticized Davis over potentially hiring Mike Shanahan despite his father, Al Davis, having been in a bitter feud with the former Denver Broncos head coach.
“They’re being extremely petty. The league should know that,” said Lund on Thursday. “It’s stupid. Get over it… He and Mark didn’t get along on a certain topic. Dude, you’re an immature idiot. Get over it.
“They’re not allowing him to have the same access as other media members on the field. A guy who worked for your organization for 21 years. He can’t say it. He’s not saying it. I’m saying it. It’s stupid. It’s immature. Some intern is telling a guy who was the voice of the Raiders for 21 years, ‘Sir, sir, get off the grass. Sir, sir, you can’t use those binoculars. Sir, sir, the rest of the media can go here, but you can’t.’
“What a joke. It makes your organization look stupid and petty. Just like John Angelos of the Orioles. Come on. How ridiculous is this?”
After Lund’s rant was posted to social media, Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Vincent Bonsignore, who was at that day’s practice session, shared his confusion over the accusation.
https://twitter.com/VinnyBonsignore/status/1689738649305600000
“We’re all in the media room wondering if this was just a bit,” tweeted Bonsignore. “Everything was standard procedure today for all of us.”
There were also other reports from media members at practice that disputed Papa had been singled out.
Talked to multiple folks at practice today…said this didn't happen. #Raiders https://t.co/5vHWJBMcR2
— Scott Gulbransen (@LVGully) August 10, 2023
By all accounts, it does appear that many media members at the practice are pretty far away, with some even requiring binoculars to keep tabs on what’s happening.
Brian Hoyer, pick-six by Taylor Hawkins…at least, methinks it was Hawkins. pic.twitter.com/uDBIpGgNJD
— Paul Gutierrez (@PGutierrezESPN) August 10, 2023
It’s unclear what happened next but at some point, the tweet was deleted and the rant was removed from all KBNR media. There does not seem to be a reason provided.
Awful Announcing has reached out to KBNR for comments but has yet to hear back.
[Barrett Sports Media, r/Raiders]
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.