"I'm a big ..."

Sexism scandal: fired commentator speaks out

A sexist comment at the Olympics was the undoing of TV commentator Bob Ballard (left).(Bild: APA/AFP/Manan VATSYAYANA, twitter.com/bobballardsport)

TV commentator Bob Ballard, who was fired for making a sexist statement, spoke out for the first time on Monday afternoon about the Olympic scandal. He was "an advocate of women's sport" and had not wanted to upset anyone.

It was announced on Monday morning that the British broadcaster Eurosport had "removed Ballard from our commentary schedule with immediate effect" due to an "inappropriate comment" during a broadcast.

In his live commentary on the swimming competitions at the Summer Games in Paris, the journalist had made a comment about Australian swimmers who had previously won gold in the 4x100-meter crawl relay.

"They hang around and put on make-up"
"The women have just finished. You know how women are: They hang around and put on makeup," he said. This statement was sharply criticized on social networks.

It was never his intention to upset or belittle anyone, Ballard wrote on X. If he did, he apologized for it. "I am a big supporter of women's sport," said the dismissed commentator.