{"id":1775,"date":"2024-07-29T20:46:58","date_gmt":"2024-07-29T20:46:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=1775"},"modified":"2024-07-29T20:46:58","modified_gmt":"2024-07-29T20:46:58","slug":"olympics-announcer-fired-over-sexist-joke-about-female-swimmers-on-live-tv-releases-2-part-statement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=1775","title":{"rendered":"Olympics Announcer Fired Over Sexist Joke About Female Swimmers On Live TV, Releases 2-Part Statement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Eurosport\u2019s commentator Bob Ballard wishes he could have one comment back because it has now cost him everything.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-sm-content-width\" data-content-name=\"mai-video-player\" data-track-content=\"\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div id=\"pw-med-background\">\n<div id=\"med_rect_atf\" class=\"pw-tag\" data-pw-desk=\"med_rect_atf\" data-pw-mobi=\"med_rect_atf\" data-google-query-id=\"CJyTtv2OzYcDFUs4RAgd6j4fkg\">\n<p>After the Australia women\u2019s 400 free relay secured gold on the opening night and were preparing to stand on the podium, Ballard made an off-handed comment on-air:\u00a0<em>\u201cWell, the women are just finishing up. You know what women are like\u2026hanging around, doing their makeup.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Ballard\u2019s commentating partner, former Olympic swimmer Lizzie Simmonds, was immediately upset and responded: \u201cOutrageous, Bob. Some of the men are doing that as well?\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Veteran Commentator Bob Ballard has been removed from his role as at the Olympics after making this remark about Australia\u2019s women swimming team. The comment was considered sexist and Mr Ballard has since been sent home. Harsh or fair? <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Paris2024?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Paris2024<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bTKjxFVZ3p\">pic.twitter.com\/bTKjxFVZ3p<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Fentuo Tahiru Fentuo (@Fentuo_) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Fentuo_\/status\/1817910432096485649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 29, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>In response to his comment, he was dropped by the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned streamer following his \u201cinappropriate remark.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"incontent-ad-1\" class=\"pw-incontent\" data-label=\"Advertisement\"><\/div>\n<p>A statement from the broadcaster said: \u201cDuring a segment of Eurosport\u2019s coverage last night, commentator Bob Ballard made an inappropriate comment. To that end, he has been removed from our commentary roster with immediate effect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bob Ballard has been reporting for decades, covering the Olympics for multiple European outlets, including the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">BBC<\/a>, so this moment is quite shocking for him.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group mai-link-exclude has-alt-background-color has-background has-light-background has-xs-padding-top has-xs-padding-bottom has-sm-padding-left has-sm-padding-right has-xl-margin-top has-xl-margin-bottom\" data-content-name=\"Google News Follow Us\" data-track-content=\"\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p>Unfortunately for him, we live in different times, and things that could have been said 10 or 15 years ago will no longer fly.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-eurosport-commentator-bob-ballard-releases-statement-after-being-removed-from-broadcasting-duties\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Eurosport Commentator Bob Ballard Releases Statement After Being Removed From Broadcasting Duties<\/h2>\n<p>Broadcaster Bob Ballard made waves during his on-air commentary for Eurosport at the swimming competition Saturday after the Australian women\u2019s 4x100m freestyle relay team won the gold medal.<\/p>\n<p>European broadcaster Eurosport removed him from its Olympics coverage Sunday following an \u201cinappropriate comment\u201d he made about members of Australia\u2019s women\u2019s swimming team.<\/p>\n<div id=\"incontent-ad-3\" class=\"pw-incontent\" data-label=\"Advertisement\"><\/div>\n<p>Now that it is clear he will not be back for the Paris Games, Ballard addressed the scandal, writing,\u00a0<em>\u201cIt was never my intention to upset or belittle anyone, and, if I did, I apologize. I am a massive advocate of women\u2019s sport. I shall miss the Eurosport team dearly and wish them all the best for the rest of the Olympics.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Right here it is the statement pt 1:<\/p>\n<p>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. I am a massive advocate of women\u2019s sport.<\/p>\n<p>I<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Bob Ballard (@bobballardsport) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bobballardsport\/status\/1817879442464571726?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 29, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Part two of statement:<\/p>\n<p>I shall miss the Eurosport team, dearly and wish them all the best for the rest of the Olympics.<\/p>\n<p>No further comment will be issued. Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Bob Ballard (@bobballardsport) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bobballardsport\/status\/1817879915208876064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 29, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Bob Ballard also added that fans not pile on Lizzie Simmonds as she was catching backlash as well for seemingly laughing at his comments:<\/p>\n<div id=\"incontent-ad-4\" class=\"pw-incontent\" data-label=\"Advertisement\"><\/div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">P.s. Don\u2019t pile in on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LizzieSimmonds1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@LizzieSimmonds1<\/a> &#8211; please! She has nothing to do with this.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Bob Ballard (@bobballardsport) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bobballardsport\/status\/1817890402734669825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 29, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Eurosport\u2019s commentator Bob Ballard wishes he could have one comment back because it has now cost him everything. After the Australia women\u2019s 400 free relay secured gold on the opening &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1776,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1775"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1775\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1777,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1775\/revisions\/1777"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}