‘Outrageous’: Olympics Commentator Fired Instantly Over Sexist Comment About Female Swimmers

An on-air sexist remark about the gold medal-winning Australian female swimming team at the 2024 Paris Olympics has cost Eurosport commentator Bob Ballard his job.

Knewz.com has learned that the commentator has since spoken out about the matter on social media .

Ballard made the inappropriate remark right after the Australian women’s 4x100m freestyle relay team secured a gold medal in the Olympics on Saturday, July 27.

The team roster included Mollie O’Callaghan, Shayna Jack, Emma McKeon, and Meg Harris, with Saturday’s win being McKeon’s sixth gold medal win in the category—beating the Australian record previously held by swimmer Ian Thorpe.

Furthermore, this was the Australian team’s fourth consecutive golden win at the event.

During the Eurosport commentary of the event, Ballard seemed to indicate that the team should hurry up as the four enjoyed their gold medal moment on the dais.

“Well the women just finishing up,” the 64-year-old commentator said while millions of viewers watched all over the continent. “You know what women are like … hanging around, doing their make-up .”

While he tried to laugh the comment off, he caught flak from co-commentator Lizzie Simmonds while on air, who called it “outrageous.”

A video clip of the incident has already made rounds on social media, with netizens criticizing Ballard’s sexist comment.

TikTok users commented under the clip, calling Ballard’s on-air remark “casual sexism being thrown around.”

Another user commented that the remark came at a time when the only medals won at the Games by the British team so far had been by women.

Notably, the International Olympic Committee is celebrating the 2024 Paris Olympics as “The Equal Games,” as 50% of its participants are female.

While Ballard faced significant criticism on social media, Eurosport has publicly – and swiftly – taken an administrative step against the commentator.

“During a segment of Eurosport’s coverage last night, commentator Bob Ballard made an inappropriate comment,” Eurosport said in a released statement, per reports .

“To that end, he has been removed from our commentary roster with immediate effect.”

Two days after the incident, the veteran sports commentator spoke out about the issue on X, formerly known as Twitter, and apologized for the remark.

“The comments I made during the Australian freestyle relay victory ceremony on Saturday have caused some offence. It was never my intention to upset or belittle anyone and, if I did, I apologise,” he wrote on X.

“I am a massive advocate of women’s sport,” Ballard added.

He posted a “part two” of his statement in a separate post on X, where he wrote, “I shall miss the Eurosport team, dearly and wish them all the best for the rest of the Olympics.”

While many poured in to show their support for Ballard in the comment section of his post, many have pointed out that his apology was not an earnest one, while others seemed to respond to the comments that claim the commentator just made a “lighthearted joke” and should not get fired over it.

“I’m trying to decide which was worse, your offensive comment or your non-apology that did little to redeem it,” one of the users wrote.

“This is one of those ‘I’m sorry if you were offended’ half/non apologies. Just accept that your ‘joke’ was deeply inappropriate, properly apologise, and then we can all move on,” wrote another.

One of the comments pointed out, “You are a public commentator on the world stage, not down the pub having a pint with your mates. The belittling comment came so easily & thoughtlessly out of your mouth it would seem being an ‘advocate’ for women’s sport has its limits eh?”