Bob Ballard is a veteran sports commentator who had the honor of commentating during the 2024 Olympics. However, that privilege would be rescinded in short order due to a sexist comment he made after the Australian women's 4x100m freestyle relay team won the gold medal. You can watch the clip for yourself below.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Eurosport have now dropped Bob Ballard as swimming commentator following this sexist remark yesterday.
?Well, the women just finishing up. You know what women are like ? hanging around, doing their makeup.?
pic.twitter.com/UWYMiiVNpd— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) July 29, 2024
You can hear Ballard saying, "Well the women are just finishing up. You know what women are like ... hanging around, doing their makeup." The clip of the incident went viral, and Eurosport made sure Ballard wouldn't return to the commentary booth. The broadcaster would share the following statement with The Independent.
"During a segment of Eurosport's coverage last night, commentator Bob Ballard made an inappropriate comment. To that end, he has been removed from our commentary roster with immediate effect." Ballard himself would go on to post an apology on his X (formerly known as Twitter) account two days later.
"The comments I made during the Australian freestyle relay victory ceremony on Saturday have caused some offense. It was never my intention to upset or belittle anyone and, if I did, I apologize. I am a massive advocate of women's sport. I shall miss the Eurosport team, dearly and wish them all the best for the rest of the Olympics. No further comment will be issued. Thank you."
An Olympics Commentator Gets Removed From The 2024 Games Due To Sexist Remarks
Because it's an important part of the situation, I'm obligated to share a social media reaction in response to Ballard's removal. "That's just ridiculous. It's a joke. People really go out of their way to be offended."
At the risk of giving up the "bound by neutrality" ghost, I want to speak to the above comment. The "joke" wasn't even funny! How many times are we going to go the lazy "But--but people are so offended these days!" route? It was an asinine comment to make. Now, we could certainly argue the merits of removing Ballard outright for the comment.
However, we need to have more meaningful reactions than "People are so offended these days" and "It was just a joke."
