Who is the Olympic Games commentator REMOVED from Paris coverage after sexist remark? Bob Ballard previously praised Tom Daley for championing LGBTQ rights and is a London university lecturer

Eurosport commentator Bob Ballard has caused controversy at the Olympic Games after he made a sexist remark regarding Australia's female swimmers. 

Experienced commentator Ballard said: 'Well, the women just finishing up. You know what women are like… hanging around, doing their make-up.' 

A clip of the comment has since gone viral on social media and Eurosport opted to act swiftly, removing Ballard from their coverage of the ongoing Olympics. 

It spells an end to his lengthy career covering the Games, after his comment was labelled as 'outrageous' by one of his colleagues.

Here, Mail Sport takes a look at Ballard's history both in and out of sport.  

Who is Bob Ballard?

According to his website, Ballard has 'immersed in the world of broadcasting, music presentation, and journalism education for over 40 years.'

He's commentated on a range of sporting events including swimming, diving, ice hockey, tennis, basketball, water polo, football, and cricket - with Paris 2024 being the seventh Games he'd covered.

He also runs his own broadcast media company, RHB Productions, out of London - where he helps 'media and entertainment come to life'.

His website confirms he's 'a music aficionado with a deep well of knowledge that spans back to the golden era of the 1950s'. 

He's also a Programme Leader at UCFB - University Campus of Football Business - where he has been since 2019, after starting off as a lecturer.

Ballard spent 15 years presenting programmes and sports bulletins on BBC 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra - as well as commentating on three Olympics, three Winter Olympics and four Commonwealth Games for Radio and Television.  

Ballard is also one of the few openly gay sports presenters and, in the past, has praised the likes of Tom Daley for paving the way for the LGBTQ community in sport.

He previously told Pride of the Terraces: 'I think Tom set the tone for other people to be honest.

'Having someone as high profile as Tom has really changed the course of events. You had a successful athlete and a very charismatic one who verbalised what he wanted to say in a really articulate way. 

'I think that was a really key thing, and I think that has been the catalyst for what has come subsequently in Rio and Tokyo, and the Winter Olympics in between.

'I think he has essentially, far more than people think, been the major catalyst for people coming out. A lot of people owe a debt of gratitude to Tom for the way he did it and what has happened subsequently.

'I had a conversation with him a couple of years ago about how he got followed around by camera crews in Russia. It bordered on freak show, which I know he found difficult to deal with. Literally every time he turned around there was someone pointing a camera at his face. He takes it on board, because the wider good is kind of why he's doing it.

What did he say?

After securing gold in the women's 4x100m freestyle relay, Australia's quartet - consisting of Emma McKeon, Shayna Jack, Mollie O'Calloghan and Meg Harris - made their way out of the Paris Aquatic Centre. 

At this point, experienced commentator Ballard said: 'Well, the women just finishing up. You know what women are like… hanging around, doing their make-up.' 

A clip of the comment has since gone viral on social media and Eurosport has opted to act swiftly, removing Ballard from their coverage of the ongoing Olympics.

'During a segment of Eurosport's coverage last night, commentator Bob Ballard made an inappropriate comment,' a statement from the broadcaster read.

'To that end, he has been removed from our commentary roster with immediate effect.' 

Lizzie Simmonds, who was alongside Ballard on commentary duty, described the comment as 'outrageous'.

It is unclear how many days of the competition Eurosport originally had him scheduled for.

Ballard is yet to publicly respond.

Ballard previously admitted in 2019 to another embarrassing on-air moment – this one at the 2005 World Championships in Montreal.

'I duly went to the interview position and spent a few awkward minutes on live TV being lambasted by the national performance director, who accused me of being the most negative journalist,' Ballard told Swimming.org in 2019.