Don Geronimo Fired From WBIG/DC
• Don Geronimo has been terminated by iHeartMedia Classic Rock WBIG (BIG 100)/Washington, the radio flagship of the of the NFL’s Washington Commanders after an incident last Thursday while he and co-host Crash Young were broadcasting live from team’s Virginia training facility. According various media reports, Geronimo and Young spotted Sharla McBride, a reporter for local DC CBS affiliate WUSA9-TV walking through the facility, and Geronimo commented on the open mic, “Hey look, Barbie’s here. Hi, Barbie girl… I’m guessing she’s a cheerleader.” Geronimo and Young later saw McBride conducting interviews and continued their stream of comments. Geronimo said to Young, “Oh hey. There’s that chick that you thought… you said tight?” Young responded, “Yeah. I screamed tight when she was… I think she’s a sportscaster at Channel 9, or Channel 7.” Geronimo again remarked, “I thought she was a cheerleader.”
Word of Geronimo’s comments quickly reached the Commanders’ new ownership group led by Josh Harris, which just acquired the franchise from Dan Snyder for a record $6.05 billion. The Commanders immediately barred Geronimo and Young from broadcasting from camp on Friday. That same day a spokesperson for the Commanders issued a statement that says, “We have worked hard to ensure that everyone feels safe and respected in our workplace, and we took swift action when we learned that an employee of our partner iHeart made sexually disparaging remarks to and about a member of the media while she was broadcasting live from training camp yesterday. iHeart and the individual were not permitted to broadcast from Training Camp today, and we will continue to work collaboratively with iHeart to address the issue and trust that iHeart will take appropriate action as it works through an internal investigation.”
Looks like that investigation was quickly resolved — on Saturday, RAMP received this statement from Aaron Hyland, Region President, iHeartMedia Washington-Baltimore, which reads, “After an internal review, Don Geronimo is no longer an employee of WBIG. We take matters of this nature very seriously and this behavior does not align with our core values.” Shortly thereafter, a Commanders spokesperson said, “We were confident that iHeart would address this swiftly and are pleased that they did.”
In a statement sent to The Washington Post, McBride (pictured) said, “When I heard the comments made about me on their radio show, I felt incredibly insulted and embarrassed. In my 17 years as a professional journalist, I have never been disrespected in such a blatant manner while trying to do my job. Their words were sexist and misogynistic. No woman should experience this in the workplace, and I appreciate the Commanders’ swift response in handling this matter.” WUSA9 has its own coverage of the story here.
Geronimo, whose real name is Michael Sorce, joined WBIG in September 2021. He’s a well known media personality in the DC market, dating back to his stints at WPGC in 1980 and WAVA in 1986. Alongside former partner Mike O’Meara, Geronimo famously co-hosted the Don and Mike Show on WJFK-FM/Washington from 1991 to 2008, and their show was syndicated in 50+ markets. Ironically, Geronimo previously hosted the Washington Football Team (formerly Redskins, now Commanders) pre-game show on WJFK-FM and The Washington Football Network from 1995 to 2001. [McBride photo from WUSA9]
