Olympics commentator who gave sexist remarks on female swimmers regrets it immediately

Words have so much power that when not put in the right way, they might ruin someone's reputation. No one better understands the significance of choosing the right words than media personalities. One tiny mistake and the whole world goes against them. Recently, Bob Ballard, a sports commentator in the Olympics sparked an outrage on the internet for his sexist remarks about the Australian women's swim team. The video clipping of Ballard's comment was shared by a 19-year-old equestrian, Lydia who goes by @thelifeoflyds on TikTok and it gained over 960K views within a couple of weeks.

As the Olympic swimming event being telecasted by Eurosport plays on Lydia's laptop, we can see the Australian women's team swimmers walking out after receiving their medals. Ballard from the commentary box took a jibe at the female athletes saying, "The women are just finishing off. You know, the women are hanging around, doing makeup." Lizzie Simmonds, the sports commentator who was accompanying Ballard instantly rebuked him saying, "Outrageous, Bob. Some of the men are doing that as well." While Ballard laughed it off and moved on with the commentary, social media users did not take it lightly.

"What was going through his head when he said this out loud? Even if he was thinking it just, don’t say it," said @k27_pea. "What a bellend, terrible joke with an even worse place and timing. I am thankful he got dropped," remarked @dankeranchor. "Yeah, male privilege always. I'm personally not bothered but it's a bad thing to say about Olympic female competitors," added @bers000.

Amid the outrage, there were a few people backing Ballard saying that he was simply making a light-hearted banter. "Grow up snowflake. It's a joke, get over it and move on with your miserable life," said @mlg_peanut responding to Lydia's post. "How pathetic that people get offended by such a lame comment! Get a grip, people," chimed in @salty7683. "I don’t think it was that bad," added @save_ferris00.

While the internet was divided in its opinion, Eurosport reprimanded Ballard for his sexist remark. He was removed from the commentary roster for mocking the Australian women swimmers who were a bit late to exit the Paris Aquatic Centre after grabbing their Olympic gold in the 4x100 meter freestyle relay, as per CNN. The commentator, regretting his remarks, posted an apology over this issue on his X handle. "The comments I made during the Australian freestyle relay victory ceremony on Saturday have caused some offense. It was never my intention to upset or belittle anyone and, if I did, I apologize," his post read.

"I am a massive advocate of women’s sport," Ballard added. "I shall miss the Eurosport team dearly and wish them all the best for the rest of the Olympics. No further comment will be issued. Thank you," his follow-up post read. Ballard, having received both support and disapproval from the internet, wanted to make sure that his co-commentator Simmonds wasn't targeted because of this issue as she found his comment "Outrageous." He later posted saying, "P.S. Don’t pile in on @LizzieSimmonds1 - please! She has nothing to do with this."