{"id":6608,"date":"2026-08-15T12:05:44","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T12:05:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6608"},"modified":"2026-08-15T12:05:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T12:05:44","slug":"cancer-stricken-radio-legend-breaks-down-in-tears-discussing-cold-blooded-layoff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6608","title":{"rendered":"Cancer-stricken radio legend breaks down in tears discussing cold-blooded layoff"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Bay Area broadcaster Greg Papa just gave his first interview after being laid off during a brutal battle with cancer.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI do not want to die,\u201d Papa told NBC Bay Area. \u201cI\u2019m going to fight as hard as I can, fight to stay alive. I have a lot to live for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Papa, 63, spoke from his home in Marin County, covering topics including facing the possibility of death and being let go from his job at local radio station KNBR after seven years.<\/p>\n

Papa was laid off earlier this month alongside his midday co-host Greg Silver, ending their \u201cPapa & Silver\u201d talk show.<\/p>\n

As the San Francisco 49ers play-by-play announcer, Papa has given voice to some of the most memorable moments in Bay Area sports history.<\/p>\n

Last summer, Papa he diagnosed with leukemia after he started feeling ill while on vacation in France.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were many nights there that I felt, you know, I may die,\u201d Papa said during the interview. \u201cCancer is unfair. Cancer is sudden. Cancer is cruel.\u201d<\/p>\n

After that, his younger sister, tried to help him by donating stem cells for a bone marrow transplant. But the transplant led to serious complications. About a month later, Papa developed pneumonia and his lungs were no longer responding. He spent 78 days in the ICU and nearly died.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was put on a ventilator,\u201d Papa explained. \u201cI was intubated. I was in an induced coma for about five days. It went from a life-threatening situation for certain to a life-altering one\u2026I\u2019ve made a lot of progress since I\u2019ve been home. I made a lot progress since late July.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even with all the suffering, however, Papa said he hopes to make it back on the radio.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m cleared, by the way, to go back on the radio show that I had that I no longer have,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI was fully preparing to return to work. There was never discussion that that would not be the case. And then one day you get a phone call and I thought it was a return-to-work plan\u2026I was cleared, my hematologist cleared me [for the radio show] and they went the other way and they chose to terminate my contract.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement Aug. 7, Cumulus Media, owner of KNBR, said: \u201cWe\u2019re not able to comment on the specifics of his departure.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company added that \u201cour respect and gratitude for everything Greg has given to KNBR, its listeners and its team runs deep,\u201d saying it is \u201cexploring ways we can bring his voice back to the station.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cumulus Media, which owns 394 radio stations, filed for bankruptcy protection in Texas in March with \u200ba restructuring deal to wipe out the company\u2019s $697 million in debt, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n

Cumulus blamed competition from digital audio and streaming platforms, changes in the advertising market, and declining audiences for radio. The company previously \u200bfiled for bankruptcy in 2017.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Lamont Hollywood, one half of the long-running Lamont and Tonelli morning show on 107.7 The Bone, a sister station to KNBR, was also recently laid off.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Papa had balanced his role as 49ers\u2019 play-by-play man while co-hosting KNBR\u2019s weekday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. program since 2019.<\/p>\n

He still has his job as the 49ers radio announcer and said he\u2019d like to return sometime this season to call games, but he didn\u2019t know if that was possible.<\/p>\n

A GoFund Me campaign was set up by the David Benzer Strike Out Fear Foundation to help with the financial costs of Papa\u2019s long recovery.<\/p>\n

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Sports broadcaster Greg Papa spoke with NBC Bay Area about his cancer diagnosis, being let go from his job at KNBR after a seven-year tenure and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6607,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media"],"yoast_head":"\nCancer-stricken radio legend breaks down in tears discussing cold-blooded layoff - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6608\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cancer-stricken radio legend breaks down in tears discussing cold-blooded layoff - 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