Basketball World Cup announcer fired for making sexist comment

A stadium announcer working at the ongoing Basketball World Cup in Spain has lost his job after making a sexist remark over the public address system during a performance by a group of cheerleaders at the game between Dominican Republic and New Zealand at the Basque Country’s Barakaldo arena on Saturday.

Speaking to the crowd in attendance, Carlos Olías de Lima said:  “One should be so lucky as to be able to spend a night with one of them...”

A few days later Olías de Lima, who has been the announcer for the Bilbao Basket club for the last 12 years, was fired for the remarks. Several Basque newspapers reported that he was informed of his dismissal on Wednesday afternoon, and that he will be replaced by the regular announcer for the Vitoria Buesa Arena.

It was an unfortunate comment and I’m sorry if it hurt anyone’s feelings”

“I understand it was an unfortunate comment, I regret having made it and I’m sorry if it hurt any man or woman’s feelings. I didn’t mean to offend anyone,” said Olías de Lima in statements to radio station Onda Vasca.

The announcer noted that right before his controversial statement, the cheerleaders had just danced to Enrique Iglesias’s song Bailando, which contains the lyric: “Yo quiero [...] tener contigo una noche loca” (“I want to have a crazy night with you”).