{"id":33212,"date":"2026-08-08T21:07:59","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:07:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=33212"},"modified":"2026-08-08T21:07:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:07:59","slug":"station-that-fired-beloved-sports-anchor-greg-papa-releases-cryptic-statement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=33212","title":{"rendered":"Station that fired beloved sports anchor Greg Papa releases cryptic statement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F08%2Fnewspress-collage-o2tg7bxby-1786205059956.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall%261786190687\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The radio station that brutally fired legendary <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/05\/us-news\/bay-area-sportscaster-greg-papa-fired-from-knbr-weeks-after-grueling-hospital-stay-for-cancer-treatment\/\">Bay Area broadcaster Greg Papa<\/a> after he endured\u00a0a grueling three-month hospital stay following a cancer diagnosis finally responded amid outrage over the decision.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/KNBR\/status\/2085887997963272649?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">In a statement, <\/a>Cumulus Media, owner of station KNBR, said: \u201cWe\u2019re not able to comment on the specifics of his departure.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Broadcaster Greg Papa looks on before the game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks at Levi\u2019s Stadium in January 2026.  <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The company did say that \u201cour respect and gratitude for everything Greg has given to KNBR, its listeners and its team runs deep,\u201d adding it is \u201cexploring ways we can bring his voice back to the station.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Papa, the longtime radio voice of the San Francisco 49ers, was fired Wednesday by KNBR alongside his midday co-host Greg Silver, ending their long-running \u201cPapa &amp; Silver\u201d talk show. <\/p>\n<p>The 63-year-old Papa has balanced his role as the 49ers\u2019 play-by-play announcer while co-hosting the weekday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. program since 2019.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Papa missed the majority of the San Francisco 49ers\u2019 games last year due to his cancer diagnosis. <span class=\"credit\">Courtesy of Greg Papa<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Papa returned home in July following a life-saving bone marrow transplant and treatment for lung failure at UCSF Medical Center. He spent 78 days in the hospital after being diagnosed with leukemia last year.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cPapa &amp; Silver\u201d show will now be replaced by longtime Bay Area radio host John Lund, who will be returning to KNBR following his firing from the station in November 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Cumulus Media in its statement praised Papa extensively, describing him as \u201cone of the defining voices of Bay Area sports radio.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Papa returned home in July following a life-saving bone marrow transplant and treatment for lung failure at UCSF Medical Center.  <span class=\"credit\">Gado via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cHis 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,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n<p>Some fans of Papa, however, did not seem satisfied with the statement and explanation from Cumulus Media.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou let go of a guy with cancer who is fighting for his life. F\u2014 you,\u201d one user commented on X.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Greg Papa, right, in 2013.  <span class=\"credit\">IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cJust because we axed the guy in cancer treatment doesn\u2019t mean we can\u2019t miss him!\u201d another user added.<\/p>\n<p>Papa was optimistic he could return to his midday show while working from his home studio like he did last year during his chemotherapy, but acknowledged that his return to the 49ers\u2019 booth might be tough.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe radio show would be something that\u2019s obviously much easier to return to. I could do it from my house. Doing a football game is a different challenge,\u201d he told the San Francisco Chronicle last month.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The radio station that brutally fired legendary Bay Area broadcaster Greg Papa after he endured\u00a0a grueling three-month hospital stay following a cancer diagnosis finally responded amid outrage over the decision. In a statement, Cumulus Media, owner of station KNBR, said: \u201cWe\u2019re not able to comment on the specifics of his departure.\u201d Broadcaster Greg Papa looks&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33213,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/newspress-collage-o2tg7bxby-1786205059956.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1786190687&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33212\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}