Meaning there are experts on the subject.
And those experts get their moment to shine on TV covering these events every Summer and Winter Games.
And, in doing so, often get exposed in ways they hadn’t intended.
By no means is swimming a niche sport.
Swimmers compete in every time zone on Earth, from summer camps to colleges to the Olympics.
But this is the rare time it reaches a broad, international audience.
And not every veteran play-by-play guy is necessarily ready for the big time exposure.
Ballard tonight apologised on X, formerly Twitter, saying he didn’t mean to cause offence.
“Well, the women just finishing up.
You know what women are like … hanging around, doing their makeup,” he said.
For some it takes decades.
For others, it’s one wedding toast.
Regardless, we all step in it eventually.
But there’s no cutting Bob Ballard slack here.
This is the Urban Dictionary definition of “You had one job.”
Mental errors can be corrected with a simple, “Correction.
That was actually blah blah blah.”
The one thing he couldn’t survive was a “You know how chicks are” joke.
And still, he couldn’t resist.
Believe me, the filter between my brain and my mouth has holes in it, same as anyone.
And that is to tell female stereotype jokes.
No matter how tempting it might be.
No “always hanging around bits.
No “doing their makeup” gags.
No “Someone stole her credit card.
No snarky, “I support women’s swimming.
As long as they’re being paid 78% of what the men are making.”
And definitely nothing about “She’s a great teammate.
Just because everyone who talks for a living makes mistakes doesn’t mean every mistake deserves a free pass.
