The San Francisco 49ers and the Las Vegas Raiders are holding joint training camp practices in Vegas ahead of their preseason game on Sunday, and KNBR host John Lund is not thrilled with how the Raiders are treating co-host and former Raiders play-by-play voice Greg Papa.
Papa was removed as the radio voice of the Raiders ahead of the 2018 season as he and team owner Mark Davis had an ongoing feud. Papa is now the voice of the Niners. He signed a long-term extension with the team last year to remain the play-by-play voice through the 2028 season.
As Papa was on location covering the joint practices for KNBR, Raiders staff restricted some of his access to the field and areas of the Raiders facility. Lund said on Papa & Lund Thursday that it was silly that the Raiders haven’t let bygones be bygones.
“They’re being extremely petty. The league should know that,” Lund said. “It’s stupid.”
Lund knows that Davis likely had a hand in how Papa has been treated at the practices. He said Mark is acting like a petulant child and needed to move on.
“Dude, you’re an immature idiot,” Lund said. “Get over it.”
Papa and Davis found each other at odds over comments Papa made in 2015 as the team interviewed former Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan for the Oakland vacancy. He said he vehemently opposed the team considering Shanahan for the role as a show of solidarity for Al Davis. Mark’s father and original owner of the Raiders had a decades-long feud with Shanahan.
Lund said everyone knows the backstory and why the Raiders staff are doing what they’re doing. He just felt the need to speak out in support of his friend and colleague for being treated unfairly.
“He can’t say it. He’s not saying it. I’m saying it. It’s stupid,” he said. “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,” Lund added. “Just like John Angelos of the Orioles. Come on. How ridiculous is this?”
