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Olympics Commentator Dropped Over Controversial ‘Makeup’ Remark on Women’s Swim Team; Responds to Sexist Allegations
An Olympics commentator has been dropped from the channel following his sexist remarks on the women's swim team. Here's what he said.
An Olympic commentator was recently dropped over his controversial remark where he made a sexist comment on the Australian women’s swim team. This has caused a huge outrage on the internet and didn't sit well with a lot of people.
Meanwhile, it seems like the commentator regrets what he said and has responded with an apology. Here's what was said, have a look.
Olympics commentator dropped over controversial ‘makeup’ remark on women’s swim team
Bob Ballard was dropped by Europort after the sportscaster made a sexist comment about the Australian women’s swim team saying, “Well, the women just finishing off. You know what women are like, hanging around, doing their makeup.”
The comment came after the completion of Saturday's 4x100 meter freestyle relay when the nation bagged a gold medal. Following that, the Olympic commentator went on to speak on the apparent delay as they exited the Paris Aquatic Centre following the celebration.
Meanwhile, as soon as the comment was made by Bob, Lizzie Simmonds took over to respond and the former Olympian who was Bob’s Eurosport co-host followed up by saying, “Outrageous, Bob,” while Bob was laughing. She further said, “Some of the men are doing that as well.”
Later, it was confirmed by the company’s spokesperson that Bob was dropped by Europort. “We can confirm that Bob Ballard has been removed from our commentary roster with immediate effect,” a statement read.
Bob Ballard apologizes for his comments
The comments were criticized by several people on the internet. Following the removal and the criticism, the sportscaster took over his X (formerly Twitter) account to apologize. In the statement, he accepted that the comments made by him “have caused some offence.”
Bob further clarified that it was never his “intention to upset or belittle anyone and, if I did, I apologise.” He further called himself a huge “advocate of women's sport.”
The commentator added, “I shall miss the Eurosport team, dearly and wish them all the best for the rest of the Olympics.” Meanwhile, the company has stated that Bob will no longer be there for the remainder of the Olympics however, no replacement for the same has been revealed, so far.
As per a statement to The Independent UK, the company confirmed, “During a segment of Eurosport's coverage last night, commentator Bob Ballard made an inappropriate comment.” The sports broadcasting network further said that Bob has been “removed from our commentary roster with immediate effect.”
Ballard, who received mixed reactions on the internet following his remarks, has worked frequently covering the Olympics and other international sporting events for a very long time. The veteran has served as an employee of the BBC since 1983 in some capacity.
The Australian women's 4x100m freestyle relay team won the gold medal which was a new record in the Olympics clocking the time of 3:28.92. The Australians have been part of the Olympics since the modern Olympics began in Athens in 1896. The nation hasn't gone without winning a medal ever since.
The nation has won over 557 medals - 167 gold, 177 silver, and 213 bronze so far as they head to the Paris Olympics 2024.
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