KNBR lets go of Greg Papa amid health battle, rehires John Lund for midday show
As longtime San Francisco sports broadcaster and lead radio play-by-play voice for the 49ers Greg Papa continues a difficult recovery from numerous health issues, he had hoped to continue his daily radio show, Papa & Silver, from his home studio as he’d done during a previous battle with cancer. That’s what Papa told the San Francisco Chronicle just last week.
It appears as if KNBR will not afford Papa that opportunity.
According to a report by Alex Simon in SFGATE, KNBR will let go of Papa and his co-host Greg Silver amid a shakeup to its midday lineup that will see the return of John Lund, a veteran of Bay Area sports talk radio, host a show called Fair and Biased with John Lund from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. PT.
Given the timing of the recent Chronicle report, the station’s decision to let go of Papa was particularly surprising, especially considering his stated desire to continue his midday show. Papa signed a new multiyear deal with KNBR in April to remain the voice of the 49ers, though he admitted to the Chronicle that the chances he’d be able to return to the booth in a regular capacity given his ongoing health issues weren’t great. Still, he did not rule it out, saying, “I will not say I cannot do it.”
Papa is currently rehabbing two collapsed lungs that resulted from a bone marrow transplant in February. John Dickinson and Larry Krueger frequently served as fill-in hosts for Papa during his health-related absences.
Lund has spent over a decade in the San Francisco radio market, starting at KNBR rival 95.7 The Game before leaping to its competitor in 2016. He worked at KNBR until 2024, when he was hit by a round of layoffs at the station.
Per Simon, KNBR did not acknowledge the lineup change on its airwaves on Wednesday. The station reportedly informed Silver of the decision on Tuesday afternoon, where he broadcast what turned out to be his final show from Cal football’s media day.
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