The morning drive host on the flagship station of the Washington Commanders was fired over the weekend after catcalling a local sportscaster live on the air at training camp.
Big 100 host Don Geronimo was dismissed by iHeartMedia DC on Saturday. His comments were directed toward WUSA-TV anchor Sharla McBride, who was also on location at the Commanders facility in Ashburn, Virginia last Thursday.
“Hey look, Barbie’s here,” Geronimo said. “Hi, Barbie girl. I’m guessing she’s a cheerleader.”
“Oh hey. There’s that chick that you thought…,” he later added spotting McBride again. “I think. I think she’s a sportscaster at Channel 9. Or Channel 7.”
“Yeah, she’s familiar,” replied producer Crash Young.
“I thought she was a cheerleader,” said Geronimo.
The on-air exchange resulted in the station being barred from the remainder of the team’s training camp.
“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,” a Commanders spokesperson said in a statement to multiple outlets on Friday. “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.”
“When I heard the comments made about me on their radio show, I felt incredibly insulted and embarrassed,” McBride stated. “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.”
By Saturday, the decision had been made by the company to part ways with Geronimo, whose real name is Michael Sorce.
“After an internal review, Don Geronimo is no longer an employee of WBIG,” said iHeart DC regional president Aaron Hyland in a statement to The Washington Post on Saturday night. “We take matters of this nature very seriously and this behavior does not align with our core values.”
Geronimo’s Twitter account released a brief statement on Sunday.
Geronimo had been a fixture in DC radio for several decades. He rose to prominence hosting alongside Mike O’Meara on WAVA beginning in the mid-1980s. The Don & Mike Show eventually picked up national syndication through Westwood One. Don retired in 2008 before beginning a stint in sports radio in 2010. He hosted on KHTK Sactown Sports 1140, even becoming program director. Geronimo had also been featured on CBS Sports Radio. He joined Big 100 in 2021.
The Commanders partnered with Big 100 just last year on a three-year deal to be the team’s flagship station.
The incident came a week after the NFL officially approved the sale of the franchise from Dan Snyder to an ownership group led by Josh Harris. Under Snyder’s ownership, the Commanders had been under intense scrutiny for fostering a hostile work environment that included sexual harassment allegations and litigation.
Former radio play-by-play voice Larry Michael abruptly retired in 2020 after the Washington Post investigated the franchise and found Michael had been among several others close to Snyder accused of improper behavior toward female employees.
