Local
Fired GWU coach accused of trying to out athletic director
Longeran allegedly spread rumors about Nero
Mike Lonergan was fired by GWU. (Photo by Rikster2; courtesy Wikimedia Commons)
George Washington University announced on Sept. 17 that it has fired controversial men’s basketball coach Mike Lonergan following an investigation triggered by a Washington Post expose in which players said Lonergan told them the G.W. athletic director, Patrick Nero, masturbated in his office while watching videos of the players practicing.
“Players said Lonergan shared his distaste for Nero in a manner both inappropriate and outlandish,” the Post reported in a July 21 story. “Five current and former players said Lonergan told players Nero requested the practice tapes so he could masturbate while viewing them in his office,” the Post story said.
“The players said Lonergan also told them Nero had engaged in a sexual relationship with a member of the team,” the story reported. “Players said they found those comments to be shocking and offensive, with no grounding in reality,” the Post reported.
Nero and university officials declined to comment on the Post’s revelations at the time the Post published its story. But Nero’s attorney, Debra Katz, who did not respond to a request by the Blade for comment, told the Post that Nero has always been a strong advocate for the welfare of student athletes.
“He will not be deterred from advocating for students by false and reprehensible remarks,” the Post quoted her as saying.
In addition to reporting on Lonergan’s reported remarks about Nero, the Post story reported that at least 13 men’s basketball players left the team and the university during the past five years because of what those who knew them said was bizarre and abusive behavior by Lonergan toward his players.
“The university recently conducted a thorough investigation into allegations concerning Coach Lonergan,” G.W. Provost Forrest Maltzman said in a statement released on Sept. 17. “The university concluded that Coach Lonergan had engaged in conduct inconsistent with the university’s values,” Maltzman said in his statement.
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
The Comings & Goings column also invites LGBTQ college students to share their successes with us. If you have been elected to a student government position, gotten an exciting internship, or are graduating and beginning your career with a great job, let us know so we can share your success.
Congratulations to Yadiel Meléndez, on their new role as Community Associate, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Meléndez is piloting a new role as a Community Associate at the Wanda Alston Foundation, where they support queer and trans young people in finding their footing, building independence, and experiencing a housing community where they are seen, valued, and affirmed. They are coming into this role with more than a decade of experience as a community organizer and operations specialist, supporting diverse communities through service, advocacy, and program coordination.
Previously they worked for Right Proper Brewing Shaw as a server and bartender and at Sephora, Washington, DC, and at FreshFarm, DC, in bilingual food access. They also worked freelance to build foundational structures for local queer BIPOC performance art coalitions, producing variety shows to curate space for marginalized performance artists in the community. They were a production manager for Haus of Hart Productions, a BIPOC centric performance art production. They also worked as field staff with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Stafford, Va.
Meléndez is bilingual, Spanish and English. Their work is guided by a commitment to dignity, safety, and trauma-informed engagement, particularly within LGBTQ and BIPOC communities.
Congratulations also to Ben Rosen LICSW, on his new role as program director, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Rosen previously worked with Fountain House’s OnRamps program, helping to build a new, innovative outreach program for individuals considered chronically homeless, and living with serious mental illness, in the Times Square area of New York. Rosen is a Psychotherapist, having worked with SG Psychotherapy, and as the psychotherapist with the Nest Community Health Center (URAM).
Rosen has a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts: Musical Theatre, Minor in Psychology (Cum Laude) from Malloy University Conservatory; and his M.S.W. in Clinical Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups, from The Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College, N.Y. He is independently licensed in New York and Washington, D.C.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
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Comings & Goings
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Calendar: April 10-16
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
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