The Washington Commanders are taking no chances under new ownership when a potentially sticky situation rears its head. The team let it be known recently with the banishment of two local radio hosts who were less than respectful to a female reporter.
Don Geronimo and Crash Young of WBIG “BIG 100” attempted to attend a Washington Commanders training camp over the weekend and were subsequently denied access after reportedly making “sexually disparaging remarks” about a female reporter on Thursday on air.
Bye Bye Geronimo
They were scheduled to broadcast from the Commanders’ training camp at the Commanders’ practice facility in Ashburn, Virginia, on Friday. However, they were denied entry after making the remarks on their radio show.
“Hey look, Barbie’s here. Hi, Barbie girl,” Geronimo shouted at veteran sports reporter and Emmy-award-winning anchor Sharla McBride from Washington, D.C.’s WUSA9. Geronimo said it live on air while McBride walked in for team training camp.
“I’m guessing she’s a cheerleader.”
“Oh hey. There’s that chick that you thought .. said tight,” said Geronimo later in the broadcast.
“Yah. I screamed tight when she was,” said Crash before being interrupted.
“I think. I think she’s a sportscaster at Channel 9. Or Channel 7,” said Geronimo.
“Yeah. She’s familiar,” replied Crash.“I thought she was a cheerleader,” said Geronimo.
Subsequently, Geronimo was fired by his employer on Friday.
Taking Command
“After an internal review, Don Geronimo is no longer an employee of WBIG,” President of the Washington DC Region for iHeartMedia, Aaron Hyland, said. “We take matters of this nature very seriously and this behavior does not align with our core values.”
The Washington Commanders wasted no time expressing their support for the decision.
“We have worked hard to ensure that everyone feels safe and respected in our workplace,” the Commanders said in a statement to WUSA9. “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 Commanders are taking their rebrand seriously after the toxic workplace culture under the former Daniel Snyder ownership of 24 seasons. The NFL fined Snyder $60 million as a parting gift.
The team was recently sold to a group led by Josh Harris, including Magic Johnson, for a reported $6.05 billion.
