Local
D.C. radio hosts suspended for segment on trans college athlete
‘Sports Reporters’ co-hosts “temporarily removed” from air after referring to Gabrielle Ludwig as ‘it’ during Dec. 6 segment.
Two D.C. radio hosts criticized a transgender college basketball player on air last week (Photo by Justin Smith via Wikimedia)
LGBT advocates have sharply criticized two local sports talk radio hosts who used transphobic references to describe a transgender college basketball player.
Andy Pollin introduced a former Washington Post reporter’s article on Gabrielle Ludwig, who plays on the women’s basketball team at Mission College in Santa Clara, Calif., that USA Today published on Dec. 5 at the start of a Thursday segment of “The Sports Reporters” on ESPN 980. Co-host Steve Czaban suggested Ludwig could “be a Russian chick” before he cackled and suggested one can become eligible to play basketball at the junior college if they “lose testicles.”
Pollin further questioned whether the Bay Area school should have allowed Ludwig to join the team because of her age before he once again highlighted her gender identity and expression.
“Whatever you go to do to scratch that inner itch or quell those inner demons, that’s fine, but don’t go playing sports then and don’t go playing sports saying, ‘But I’ve got the rights of everyone else,’” Pollin said. “Yeah, you’ve got the rights to live as a human being with other people respecting you and everything else, but athletics is different. And a man’s body and a man’s DNA is different than a woman’s. That’s why we have separate leagues for separate genders.”
A voice then said “Just like a woman,” before Pollin again questioned whether Mission College should have allowed Ludwig to play on their women’s basketball team.
“The net net is she, she/he has had a lot of problems in his/her life,” Czaban said.
Pollin added ‘it’ is the “politically correct term” to which to refer to Ludwig.
“Whatever it is and this basketball is helping him/her to transform his/her life into a better life, such as it is,” Czaban said at the end of the segment to which the Washington Blade has linked.
Ludwig responded to the segment during an interview Outsports.com, an LGBT-themed sports website, published earlier on Tuesday.
“These two people in Washington, D.C., just tore my life apart, and they don’t even know me,” she said. “They did it in respect to how I look, how I’m built, the tattoos on my body. They took great pride in humiliating me in the national public. I don’t know if I’m supposed to cry or scream or beat them up. It’s affecting my sleep, it’s affecting my confidence.”
Pollin and Czaban made a brief on-air apology during their Monday show after the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation reached out to the station.
Aaron McQuade, director of news and field strategy at GLAAD, wrote on the organization’s website that ESPN 980 management “responded quickly to our outreach, with a clear understanding of why the content that aired last week was so offensive.” He added Pollin and Czaban’s on-air apology for using “it” to refer to Ludwig “failed to address the rest of an extremely offensive segment.”
“We strongly believe two of our employees crossed the line when they referred to Ms. Ludwig as ‘it’ on their program last Thursday,” Chuck Sapienza, vice president of programming for ESPN980 told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Such intolerance and insensitivity will never be tolerated by this company. This situation was handled swiftly and internally. Due to the nature of their contracts, we are not at liberty to publicly discuss any actions that were taken.”
ESPN spokesperson Josh Krulewitz also criticized the segment in a statement to Outsports.com.
“The two are not employees of ESPN and made the comments on an affiliated radio station that controls its own local content,” he said. “The offensive commentary goes completely against ESPN’s company culture and values. We have expressed our significant dissatisfaction to the station’s management.”
Cyd Zeigler, Jr., co-founder of Outsports.com, further criticized Pollin and Czaban’s on-air apology.
“It was among the least sincere non-apologies in history,” he wrote on Monday. “The only things they’re really be sorry for are being caught, and also how overly sensitive the faggots and the trannies are these days. I’m sure they were rolling their eyes with every word of their non-apology. You don’t say what they said without meaning every word of it — this apology doesn’t change that, it reinforces it.”
Zeigler further described the men as “a disgrace to their profession” who should be suspended without pay.
“My only saving grace is knowing there are people in my corner including the kids that I coach, and the team we played on Saturday,” Ludwig told Outsports.com. “They invited me into their locker room and took pictures. And they posted them on Facebook and said, ‘This is one of the nicest players we’ve ever played and you can’t judge a book by its cover.’”
ESPN 980 said in a statement released after the Blade published its original story that Pollin and Czaban have been “temporarily removed” from “The Sports Reporters”
“We strongly believe two of our employees crossed the line when discussing a transsexual person on their program last Thursday,” the station said. “Such intolerance and insensitivity will never be tolerated by this company. Due to the nature of their conversation, the pair have been temporarily removed from ESPN980’s Sports Reporters program.”
District of Columbia
Campaign launched to elect more LGBTQ candidates to ANC seats
Capital Stonewall Democrats behind Queering ANCs effort
The Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest local LGBTQ political group, announced on July 7 it has launched a campaign to help elect large numbers of LGBTQ candidates to the city’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions.
The D.C. local government is believed to be unique among U.S. cities in currently having 46 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions consisting of 345 single-member districts in neighborhoods throughout the city in which unpaid Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners are elected for two-year terms.
The commissions are charged with considering a wide range of policies and programs impacting their neighborhoods, including traffic, parking, recreation, street improvements, liquor licenses, zoning, economic development, police protection, sanitation and trash collection, and D.C.’s annual budget, according to the ANC website.
Although the ANCs do not have authority to set or reject policies or proposals, such as applications for liquor licenses, city agencies are required to give “great weight” to ANC recommendations, according to the law creating the ANCs.
Kent Boese, a gay former ANC commissioner, currently serves as executive director of the D.C. Office of ANCs.
“We are launching the most ambitious hyperlocal LGBTQ+ candidate pipeline initiative in the country,” said Stevie McCarty, the Capital Stonewall Democrats president, in a July 7 statement that announced the Queering ANCs campaign.
“As an ANC member, I know firsthand how these seats shape our neighborhoods, from housing and public safety to sanitation,” McCarty says in the statement. “I’m proud to lead this effort to ensure more LGBTQ+ Washingtonians see themselves as leaders in their communities,” he said.
The ANC Rainbow Caucus, which was created by LGBTQ ANC members, shows on its website that there are currently 38 caucus members consisting of elected LGBTQ ANC commissioners serving in the current 2025-2026 two-year term.
The website shows there are LGBTQ commissioners who are caucus members in each of the city’s eight wards, with six in Ward 1, eight in Ward 2, one in Ward 3, six in Ward 4, five in Ward 5, three in Ward 6, eight in Ward 7, and one in Ward 8.
The Washington Blade couldn’t immediately determine how many of them will be running for re-election in D.C.’s general election in November. But McCarty said Capital Stonewall Democrats hopes to recruit many more LGBTQ candidates to run for ANC seats.
The D.C. Board of Elections website shows the deadline for filing 25 required petition signatures to be placed on the ballot is Aug. 5.
A Queering ANCs website launched this week by Capital Stonewall Democrats provides details on how to run for an ANC seat and offers help for those interested in running.
“Think of someone in your building, neighborhood, friend group, community organization, or professional network who cares deeply about D.C. and would make a strong leader,” McCarty says in his statement. “Send them QueeringANCs.org and personally ask them to consider running,” he said.
The website can be accessed at QueeringANCs.org.
Baltimore
Ron Singer, owner of popular Mount Vernon gay bar Leon’s, dies
66-year-old’s funeral to take place Friday
By CAYLA HARRIS | Ron Singer, the owner of Baltimore’s popular gay bar Leon’s Backroom, died Tuesday, the venue announced in a social media post. He was 66.
“For more than 20 years, Ron made Leon’s a place so many people were proud to call home,” the post reads. “He will be deeply missed.”
The Mount Vernon bar, typically open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily, is still open Thursday, but doors will close at midnight so staff can attend his funeral Friday morning. Services are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. at Sol Levinson’s Chapel.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
Mary’s House founder, CEO retires
Dr. Imani Woody played leading role in opening DC’s first home for LGBTQ seniors
The board of directors for Mary’s House for Older Adults, DC’s first official home dedicated to providing affordable housing for LGBTQ seniors, announced on July 7 that its founding president and CEO, Dr. Imani Woody, has retired.
Woody, who holds a PhD in Human Services, is credited with playing a leading role over many years in arranging both city and private funding needed to construct and operate the Mary’s House three-story building located at 401 Anacostia Road, S.E., in the city’s Fort Dupont neighborhood.
The house, which opened in March 2025, with a grand opening ceremony held in May 2025, includes 15 single-occupancy residential units and more than 5,000 square feet of shared communal living space.
“It is with profound gratitude and hearts full of celebration that the board of directors of Mary’s House for Older Adults, DC (MHFOA) announces the retirement of our visionary founder, Dr. Imani Woody, from her role as president and CEO,” the Mary’s House board says in a statement.
“Dr. Woody’s journey with Mary’s House began with her vision and a kitchen table gathering of women with a bold, urgent, and loving vision: to create safe, affirming, affordable housing for LGBTQ/SGL older adults in Washington, DC,” the statement says.
It adds, “What started as a dream has grown into DC’s first affordable LGBTQ+/SGL affirming communal living space for adults 60 and over, a 15-room community residence at 401 Anacostia Road in Southeast Washington.”
The statement says Woody will continue to serve on Mary’s House board.
“The board will be sharing information about the leadership transition process in the coming weeks,” the statement continues. “We are committed to honoring Dr. Woody’s legacy by ensuring Mary’s House continues to thrive and grow in faithful service to LGBTQ/SGL elders experiencing housing insecurity and isolation.”
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