News/Commentary

Sports radio host fired after calling female reporter ‘Barbie girl’ at Commanders’ NFL training camp

July 30, 2023 | | Print Article

A sports radio host has been fired for referring to a fellow reporter as “Barbie,” which apparently is a “sexist” offense, but critics say this is taking it too far.

Michael Sorce (aka Don Geronimo), formerly the host of “The Don Geronimo Show” on D.C. station WBIG, was fired after yelling “hi, Barbie girl” to reporter Sharla McBride of fellow D.C. station WUSA as she walked by him during a Thursday morning broadcast from the Washington Commanders’ training camp.

“I’m guessing she’s a cheerleader,” he added, according to The Washington Post.

He later mentioned her again, this time referring to her as “that chick.”

You can hear his remarks in the video below:

Combined, these offenses were too much for WBIG, which is the Commanders’ radio partner.

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“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,” iHeartMedia executive Aaron Hyland told the Post on Saturday.

FYI, iHeartMedia is the radio station’s parent company.

“We were confident that iHeart would address this swiftly and are pleased that they did,” a Commander’s spokesperson reportedly added.

According to the Post, the Commanders have also banned Sorce and his producer, Crash Young, from their 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,” the team told WUSA in a statement Friday.

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Was all this necessary? Evidently so, according to McBride. In a statement to the Post, she expressed what sounded like anger over Sorce’s otherwise innocuous remarks.

“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,” she said.

“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,” she added.

Critics were not pleased by the outcome of all this:

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McBride’s boss, WUSA general manager Richard Dyer, also took offense.

“Objectifying women is harmful and disrespectful. We’ve heard from the Washington Commanders that they are addressing this situation directly with iHeartRadio. Promoting respect, empathy and equal treatment for all individuals, regardless of gender, is crucial for building respect in any workplace,” he said, according to Deadline Hollywood.

This is, sadly, an unfortunate end for Sorce, whose career thus far has been pointed upward and beyond.

“Geronimo, 64, has been a notable figure in local radio for decades, known for his sports broadcasts as well as his raunchy, ‘guy talk’ radio as half of ‘The Don and Mike Show’ with Mike O’Meara on WJFK (106.7 FM),” the Post notes.

“The show garnered a following for off-color stunts, including a nude Olympics that was shown on pay-per-view. As The Post detailed in 1998, the pair prided itself on pushing the envelope, and their act resulted in a handful of lawsuits and complaints, at least a couple of which were resolved with settlements,” according to the Post.

His fans are now wishing him the best going forward:

Vivek Saxena
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