Bob Ballard, a seasoned sports commentator, has been dismissed from his role covering the Olympics after a comment regarding Australian female swimmers, prompting questions about what is considered acceptable behavior when it comes to the event given a competing athlete is a convicted rapist.
Mollie O’Callaghan, Emma McKeon, Meg Harris, and Shayna Jack had just triumphed over the US and China, securing Australia’s fourth consecutive gold medal in the event on Saturday.
The swimmers were celebrating and waving to the crowd when Ballard said, “The woman are just finishing up. You know what women are like, hanging around, doing their make-up.”
Lizzie Simmonds, Ballard’s co-commentator and a former British swimming champion, immediately condemned his remark as “outrageous,” a response that was met with laughter from Ballard.
A clip of the interaction, which was broadcast live on Eurosport, went viral, and on Sunday the sports channel announced Ballard’s departure.
“During a segment of Eurosport’s coverage last night, commentator Bob Ballard made an inappropriate comment,” the broadcaster said in a statement to The Independent. “As a result, he has been removed from our commentary roster with immediate effect.”
Ballard addressed the incident on his social media and defended Simmonds, saying she had “nothing to do with it.”
“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’s sport,” Ballard wrote.
Ballard, a longtime BBC reporter and presenter, has been a prominent figure in global sports coverage since the 1980s. He has covered numerous Olympic Games and World Championships, with a repertoire spanning water polo, ice hockey, and wheelchair tennis. However, he is most renowned for his swimming and diving commentary.
The controversy comes as a BBC commentator publicly defended a convicted child rapist’s participation at the Olympics. Paula Radcliffe later issued an apology after wishing him “the best of luck.”
Steven van De Velde, named in the Netherlands’ beach volleyball squad for Paris 2024, was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 after reportedly admitting to three counts of rape against a child. He served 12 months before returning to his volleyball career and eventually qualifying for the Olympics.
On social media, some people seemed baffled by the fact that both presenters had faced criticism for their comments, but Van De Velde remained able to compete.
Despite the backlash, the Dutch Olympic Committee has defended its decision to allow his participation, saying it’s down to the National Volleyball Federation, and he “meets all the qualification requirements.”
They also said he will “stay in alternative accommodation and will not speak to the press during his stay in Paris.”
The BBC confirmed to Newsweek they will keep Radcliffe on air as she publicly apologized despite the public controversy surrounding the incident.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
