Olympic commentator Bob Ballard fired for making ‘sexist comment’ about women’s swim team
Gold medalists Emma McKeon, Shayna Jack, Mollie O’Callaghan and Meg Harris of team Australia. (Xavier Laine/Getty)
Sports commentator Bob Ballard has been widely condemned for making a “sexist remark” about Australia’s gold medal-winning women’s swim team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Ballard, a veteran commentator who has been covering sports since the 1980s, including Olympic Games and World Championships, has been sacked and slammed online for inappropriate comments made during his commentary of the 4x100m freestyle relay final.
On Saturday (27 July), the Australian team – Mollie O’Callaghan, Shayna Jack, Emma McKeon and Meg Harris – took home the gold medals from their performance in the pool.
What did Bob Ballard say?
After the win, the former BBC commentator said: “Well, the women just finishing up. You know what women are like… hanging around, doing their make-up.”
Ballard’s co-commentator, Lizzie Simmonds, initially laughed at the remark but also quickly jumped in and noted his commentary was “outrageous”
A user posted the clip to TikTok with the note: “casual sexism being thrown around on the swimming coverage…baffling that this still happens on OLYMPIC coverage?? and in general??”
“I’m glad someone else caught this I was SHOCKED,” one commenter wrote.
Another noted that Simmonds’s reaction was relatable: “The awkward laugh of the woman that we (at least I) have done at work when someone said something offensive cause you don’t want trouble rn.”
“This was just as bad as when an old, white, female UK commentator said Simone Biles ‘(not) classy, but very good’,” a user also pointed out.
Eurosport has since released a statement, which reads: “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 is yet to comment publicly on the sacking.
So far, this year’s Olympics has been a celebration of LGBTQ+ sporting excellence, from Tom Daley winning Olympic silver with a rainbow towel in hand to queer surfer Tyler Wright motivated by her chronic illness to win gold.
A list compiled by Outsports and gay historian Tony Scupham-Bilton has revealed a total of 175 out athletes, featuring a record number of out male Olympians
There are 11 LGBTQ+ athletes representing Team GB this year, fewer out athletes than in Team GB’s selection for Tokyo three years ago.
The Olympic Games run from 26 July to 11 August. You can read all our Olympics coverage here.
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