A British Olympics swimming commentator has been sacked with fast impact by broadcaster Eurosport, after coming in for a barrage of criticism for a sexist remark directed at Australia’s ladies’s freestyle relay staff.
Bob Ballard, who has commentated at seven Olympic Video games throughout a big selection of sports activities, was calling for Eurosport Emma McKeon, Shayna Jack, Mollie O’Callaghan and Meg Harris gained gold within the 4x100m freestyle relay occasion for Australia for the fourth consecutive time.
Ballard made the fateful quip because the staff left the Paris Aquatic Centre following the race and medal ceremony.
“Effectively, the ladies simply ending up. You realize what ladies are like… hanging round, doing their make-up,” he stated.
The incident prompted Ballard’s co-commentator Lizzie Simmonds, who represented Nice Britain in backstroke within the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Video games, to slam his comment as ‘outrageous’.
It didn’t take lengthy for Eurosport to take decisive motion, eradicating Ballard from its protection of the heats on Sunday night (AEST), with the community confirming he has been completely axed.
“Throughout a section of Eurosport’s protection final evening, commentator Bob Ballard made an inappropriate remark,” a press release from the community reads, accoding to The Impartial. “
To that finish, he has been faraway from our commentary roster with fast impact.”
Social media response to the remark and the sacking has been combined, with some telling Ballard to ‘cling [his] head in disgrace’, whereas others stated the termination was over-the-top and slammed the community for being ‘humourless bastards’.
O’Callaghan, Jack, McKeon and Harris set a brand new Olympic document with their gold medal-winning time of three:28.92, with Staff USA ending greater than a second behind and China claiming the bronze medal.
Ballard is but to make public touch upon his sacking.
The incident hearkens again to when tennis commentator Doug Adler was sacked by ESPN for an alleged racist comment at tennis star Venus Williams through the 2017 Australian Open, when he described her charging to the web towards opponent Stefanie Vogele as ‘the gorilla impact’.
Nonetheless, Adler claimed he was truly referring to ‘guerrilla’ techniques quite than making a intentionally racist remark, and later sued the community.
