Ralph Barbieri
Bay Area sportscaster Ralph Barbieri appeared on KGMZ on Monday. The 66 year old radio legend is suing Cumulus radio after being dumped by Cumulus owned KNBR 680, where Barbieri worked for 28 years.
“The litmus test of when something’s gone awry is when somebody treats you totally differently than they ever did before. And it was on May 19th that I talked to them [KNBR] and told them that I had Diabetes 2 and it was on August 2nd that I told them that I had Parkinson’s,” Barbieri began, then suddenly explained to his hosts that he had a Parkinson’s joke.
“I digress here a little bit,” Barbieri laughed.
“We’ve got time,” one of his interviewers explained.
“Ok. A doctor tells his patient ‘you have Parkinson’s disease.’ And the patient says, ‘Does he want it back’?”
Awkward gigging ensued. “Ya gotta think about it,” Barbieri declared.
All syntax humor aside, allegedly telling your boss you have two hugely life threatening diseases, then getting the heave ho shortly thereafter is no laughing matter. The case is being handled by San Francisco attorney Angela Alioto, who says the claimed reason for the dismissal is that Barbieri showed up late for work.
“The action . . . sends the message loud and clear that if you are 66 years old and have a disability, ‘we don’t want you anymore’,” Alioto’s statement declares. “The message we will send, right back to them, loud and clear, is that this type of despicable illegal behavior will not be tolerated in the City and County of San Francisco.”
KGMZ interview here.
