Sports commentator Bob Ballard has been sacked by Eurosport after making a sexist remark about Australia’s female swimmers after their Olympic gold medal win.
The comment came after the Australian women took part in the 4x100m freestyle, and with the men’s 4x100m relay to come next, Ballard apparently felt the women were taking up too much time. And so he said the following live on air:
Setting women’s sports back. Bob Ballard:
(video from:thelifeoflyds – TikTok) pic.twitter.com/6SABGUTpfc
— A Gooners View (@AGoonersThought) July 29, 2024
“Well, the women just finishing up. You know what women are like… hanging around, doing their make-up.”
Which doesn’t exactly strike me as a “you’re fired” level of transgression, but obviously social media was fuming about it and prompted Eurosport to remove Bob Ballard from his duties, as well as releasing the following statement:
“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.”
Which I suppose is fair enough, really. Sure, it was just a joke, but it’s a tired and worn out one, and even with the sexism aside, it’s just unprofessional.
I mean, imagine Aussie freestyle swimmers Mollie O’Callaghan, Shayna Jack, Emma McKeon and Meg Harris hearing that on commentary after they’ve just taken home winners medals in the Olympics? It’s a massive achievement and they deserve their moment in the spotlight without being mocked by a boomer commentator. Especially with all that time and effort they’ve spent doing their make-up!
Bob Ballard has been covering sports since the 1980s and has reported on multiple Olympic Games and World Championships. Pretty sad way for him to go out, but then I guess he should know better as a veteran of the game. Onwards and upwards!
To watch a Norwegian triathlete celebrate Olympic gold by puking all over the finish line, click HERE.
