Olympics Broadcaster Removed From Coverage After Sexist Comment

French television network Eurosport removed broadcaster Bob Ballard from his commentating duties at the Paris Olympic Games after he made a sexist comment about a group of female swimmers competing for Australia. “Well, the women just finishing up. You know what women are like… hanging around, doing their make-up,” Ballard was heard saying. His co-commentator, Lizzie Simmons, immediately called the statement “outrageous.” According to Deadline, the remark came just after the country’s 4x100m freestyle relay team snagged a gold medal for their home country. In a statement to The Independent, Eurosport said: “During a segment of Eurosport’s coverage last night, commentator Bob Ballard made an inappropriate comment. To that end, he has been removed from our commentary roster with immediate effect.” Following the comment, viewers took to social media to express their dismay. “Hang your head in shame,” one viewer told Ballard on X. “When will these people ever learn?” asked another. Ballard has yet to comment on the incident.

Irish singer Sinead O’Connor’s cause of death has been revealed to the public just one year after her passing at 56. According to the New York Post, the Grammy winner died from both asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Her husband, John Reynolds, registered her death as such in London this week. According to the outlet, a respiratory tract infection that O’Connor had at the time of her death was also a contributing factor. Before the official report, the singer was reported to have died of natural causes after being found “unresponsive” in her London apartment. In January 2022, O’Connor lost her second youngest son, Shane Lunny, after he died by suicide. According to People, O’Connor took to Twitter, now X, to mourn his passing in a since-deleted message. “My beautiful son, Nevi’im Nesta Ali Shane O’Connor, the very light of my life, decided to end his earthly struggle today and is now with God,” she wrote. O’Connor is survived by three other children, Jake Reynolds, Roisin Waters, and Yeshua Bonadio.