KNBR, Barbieri, Sever Ties

A popular Bay Area radio sports talk show host's days at KNBR are over, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The circumstances of Ralph Barbieri leaving the station are unclear, however the Chronicle headline ("Ralph Barbieri let go by KNBR") suggests he was fired.

Station general manager Lee Hammer told the Chronicle that Barbieri “is no longer with the station. It was a management decision.”

Barbieri has been at KNBR since 1984 and a fixture at the station for decades, co-hosting “The Razor and Mr. T,” with former Golden State Warriors forward Tom Tolbert since 1996.

Hammer told the Chronicle that Tolbert would host the program alone on Wednesday.

Barbieri's apparent dismissal follows his announcement last year he has Parkinson's disease.

The 66-year-old Barbieri's announcement came amid contract negotiations with the station, the Chronicle reported.

“My contract is expiring soon,” Barbieri said at the time, “and if I am to continue at KNBR, I’d like to start with all our cards on the table, face-up. I’ve gotten to know Lew Dickey (CEO of Cumulus Media, parent company of KNBR) a little bit, and my gut feeling was that he could deal with my situation at an honorable level, so I gave him a call and told him everything.

“He let me know that KNBR wants me back. He didn’t say on what terms, but the fact that he didn’t view the Parkinson’s as a red flag, that was a huge relief to me.”

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