On July 27, a longtime radio personality who returned to Washington, D.C. from Sacramento, where he had relocated to, saw a woman at Washington Commanders training camp. He and his co-host were live on the air, as his station is the National Football League club’s flagship radio partner.
In Don Geronimo‘s eyes, she looked a lot like “Barbie,” the fictional Mattel character presently featured in a box office smash. Geronimo suggested she was a cheerleader for the Commanders, and in a second pass by from the woman, he again noted her “Barbie girl” quality while on the air.
The woman in question is an Emmy-award winning producer and reporter employed by TEGNA‘s flagship television station, WUSA9. The comments cost Geronimo, whose career was largely crafted by being a “bad boy” and “shock jock,” his job.
Now, Geronimo has apologized via X, formerly known as Twitter, for his comments.
During the midday hours on Wednesday (8/2), Geronimo, whose legal name is Michael Sorce, said that during the July 27 live broadcast from Commanders training camp, he used “inappropriate words in a way that hurt someone.”
He continued, “I deeply and sincerely apologize for the pain I caused WUSA sports reporter Sharla McBride.”
Geronimo confirmed that he used the terms “Barbie,” “Barbie girl,” and “chick” when talking about McBride, who joined WUSA9 in March 2020 following a role as the evening news anchor for WNEP-16 in Wilkes Barre-Scranton. She’s a veteran sports reporter who moved to the anchor desk in a promotion, and previous roles include serving as a sports reporter/anchor for NBC Sports Philadelphia from 2012-2013.
Geronimo, stating that he did not know or recognize McBride, then confessed, “My attempts to be humorous and topical backfired, and I needlessly depressed a professional colleague.”
In his statement, Geronimo also wished to set the record straight that neither him or his producer, Crash Young, used the word “tight” to describe McBride. Rather, his producer uttered the word to “describe a technical aspect of our show that day.”
Geronimo says he’s reached to McBride to apologize directly to her. “When she feels ready, I hope that we can have a conversation and that I will have the opportunity to reiterate my apology to her in person. I hope that Ms. McBride and the listeners who heard me will forgive me. I am better than this, and I promise to demonstrate that going forward.”
McBride, speaking to WUSA9 colleagues covering the story, said she was hurt and incredibly offended that after 17 years as a journalist, sexist comments like that discredit her as a professional. She called it inappropriate, unprofessional and embarrassing.
McBride did not hear the comment nor did she report it to the Commanders.
But, that didn’t stop the nation’s No. 1 owner of radio stations to make a swift decision to terminate Geronimo, who along with former partner Mike O’Meara enjoyed success as Don and Mike — first at Top 40 WAVA under Emmis ownership, and subsequently at WJFK under Infinity Broadcasting ownership and the leadership of Ken Stevens.
“After an internal review, Don Geronimo is no longer an employee of WBIG,” Aaron Hyland, President of the Washington DC Region for iHeartMedia, told WUSA9 on Saturday. “We take matters of this nature very seriously and this behavior does not align with our core values.”
