Olympic broadcaster Eurosport wasted little time taking commentator Bob Ballard off its Paris Games coverage after he made a misogynistic remark while calling Saturday’s swim relay.
What followed was when Australia claimed the top spot in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay… and Ballard could be heard saying, “Well the women are just finishing up. You know what women are like … hanging around, doing their makeup.”
Eurosport said in a 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.”
Lizzie Simmonds — working alongside Ballard as the co-commentator on Pool One of Beijing trilogy finals — went down exactly that path, declaring the comment was “outrageous.”
Ballard, who has made no public comment about the episode, was active on the social media platform X where he wished Eurosport’s Laura Winter good luck before Sunday evening swimming and tweeted: “Have a great one’.”
Bob Ballard is a veteran primary commentator who has called countless Olympic events, predominantly in swimming and diving. He has also covered basketball, hockey, and cricket in a broadcasting career that includes the BBC Radio 5 Live.