Rift with owner led to Papa’s dismissal
Radio man took a stand 3 years ago for late Al Davis
Speaking publicly for the first time since his shocking dismissal as radio voice of the Raiders, Greg Papa said Monday that his firing was the product of a three-yearold rift with team owner Mark Davis.
“We never were able to mend fences, Mark Davis and I,” Papa said on his radio show. “Whenever we were around each other, standing right next to each other many, many times, I reached out to him to say hi (and) he ignored me. I thought over time it would dissipate. I thought over time, especially with Jon Gruden coming back, it would really go away.”
Three years ago on his radio show Papa criticized Davis for considering Mike Shanahan as a candidate for the head-coaching job that eventually went to Jack Del Rio. Papa viewed it as a slap in the face to Al Davis, the late Raiders owner who had carried on a quarter-century feud with Shanahan.
“I was extremely outspoken about how it could not happen, in my opinion,” Papa said. “I threatened to quit as the voice of the team and I would have no association with (Shanahan). The reason I was doing it was my love and respect for Al Davis.
“I felt it to be beyond my comprehension — it still is — that Mike Shanahan could interview to be the head coach of the Oakland Raiders. Knowing how much Al Davis loathed him, it just couldn’t happen.”
Early this month, Papa said, Raiders president Marc Badain sent him a text message, suggesting they get together soon. Papa was out of town on vacation, so the meeting didn’t happen until July 5.
That’s when Papa learned that his 21-year career with the Raiders was over.
Papa, 56, wasn’t completely blindsided. He had heard “some rumblings,” he said, but he didn’t pay them much mind, given that the season was so close to starting. “Why now?” Papa asked. “We’ve been doing this
for 3 1/2 years,” Badain replied, “and I bought you 3 1/2 years.”
Shortly after Badain became the Raiders president in 2015 — he was introduced at the same news conference as Del Rio — Badain asked to have dinner with Papa. Badain recommended that Papa fix things with Mark Davis.
Papa said he called Mark Davis the following morning.
“The phone conversation did not go well,” Papa said. “He wound up hanging up on me. I don’t know exactly what he wanted me to say, if he wanted me to apologize for my feelings. I said ‘I’m sorry you feel this way. It was not a direct shot at you. Sometimes I just feel there’s nobody around here to defend Al.’”
Papa referenced another time he thought Mark Davis “crossed a line” against his father’s memory: The pregame ceremony in 2012 in which Marcus Allen was invited
to light the torch named in honor of Al Davis. The patriarch, who had died a year earlier, had carried on a feud with Allen that was almost as long and as ugly as his feud with Shanahan.
“This is not Al Davis’ football team anymore,” Papa said Monday, “and maybe that’s my own mistake.”
Papa said he was never asked about moving with the Raiders to Las Vegas for the 2020 season. He never told the team he wouldn’t go, and even said he’d be open to calling games for the Las Vegas Raiders. Brent Musburger, who currently resides in Vegas, will replace Papa. Former Raiders offensive lineman Lincoln Kennedy will replace Tom Flores as the color commentator.
During Monday’s show, Papa and co-host Bonta Hill took calls from listeners thanking Papa for 21 years of service. One of them was an 18-year-old
heading to college this fall to study broadcasting. He said Papa inspired him to do so and asked him for one piece of advice.
“I guess my advice to
you would be to get along with ownership better,” Papa joked.
On a serious note, Papa said: “It’s painful for me, personally, to lose association
with this particular team... I don’t fit anymore with this team ... I just don’t fit anymore. I wish them luck. It’s going to be a hard year for me.”