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Bay Area broadcaster Greg Papa just gave his first interview after being laid off following serious complications related to his cancer diagnosis.
“I do not want to die,” Papa told NBC Bay Area. “I’m going to fight as hard as I can, fight to stay alive. I have a lot to live for.”
Papa, 63, spoke from his home in Marin County, covering topics including facing the possibility of death, family and being let go from his job at local radio station KNBR after a seven-year tenure.
Papa has given voice to some of the most memorable moments in Bay Area sports history, covering teams ranging from the A’s and Raiders to the Warriors, Giants and 49ers.
Last summer, Papa was diagnosed with leukemia after he started feeling ill while on vacation in France.
“There were many nights there that I felt, you know, I may die,” Papa said during the interview. “Cancer is unfair. Cancer is sudden. Cancer is cruel.”
After that, his younger sister, Judy, 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.
“I was put on a ventilator,” Papa said. “I 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…I’ve made a lot of progress since I’ve been home. I made a lot progress since late July.”
Even with all the suffering, however, Papa said he hopes to make it back on the radio.
“I’m cleared, by the way, to go back on the radio show that I had that I no longer have,” he said.
Papa was laid off earlier this month alongside his midday co-host Greg Silver, ending their long-running “Papa & Silver” talk show.
“I was fully preparing to return to work,” Papa said. “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…I was cleared, my hematologist cleared me [for the radio show] and they went the other way and they chose to terminate my contract.”
In a statement Aug. 7, Cumulus Media, owner of KNBR, said: “We’re not able to comment on the specifics of his departure.”
The company added that “our respect and gratitude for everything Greg has given to KNBR, its listeners and its team runs deep,” saying it is “exploring ways we can bring his voice back to the station.”
Cumulus Media, which owns 394 radio stations, filed for bankruptcy protection in Texas in March with a restructuring deal to wipe out the company’s $697 million in debt, Reuters reported.
Cumulus blamed competition from digital audio and streaming platforms, changes in the advertising market, and declining audiences for radio. The company previously filed for bankruptcy in 2017.
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.
Papa had balanced his role as the San Francisco 49ers’ play-by-play announcer while co-hosting KNBR’s weekday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. program since 2019.
He still has his job as the 49ers radio announcer and said he’d like to return sometime this season to call games, but he didn’t know if that was possible.
A GoFund Me campaign was set up by the David Benzer Strike Out Fear Foundation to help with the financial costs of Papa’s long recovery.
English (US)