Braves sideline reporter Wiley Ballard came under fire on Monday night for getting a female fan’s phone number live on TV.
Ballard, whose website says he was the 2024 NSMA Georgia Sportscaster of the Year, was working the Braves’ matchup at the Blue Jays on FanDuel Sports Network when he did a segment with two young women, named Lauren and Kayla.
While dispatched at the Rogers Centre’s Corona Rooftop, a patio area of the Blue Jays’ home stadium, Ballard began by asking the women their names before filling time with some banal questions about rooting for the Braves and how often they visited the rooftop lounge.
However, before concluding the interview, Ballard declared to the Braves’ broadcast team that he was ‘gonna go to work here,’ which drew a laugh from his colleagues in the booth.
Braves play-by-play announcer Brandon Gaudin then encouraged him further, saying: ‘Okay Wiley, you’ve got four innings to get the numbers.’
‘I’m on it,’ Ballard replied.
Braves reporter Wiley Ballard talked to two female fans during a segment on Monday night
He then got one of their phone numbers after being encouraged by his colleagues
Ballard was later seen winking at the camera as he continued speaking to Lauren
‘Get us some more Braves fans,’ color commentator C.J. Nitkowski added.
Ballard could then be heard saying, ‘Alright, so they want me to get your number,’ as he pulled out his phone in front of the fan named Lauren.
‘They want you to get my number?,’ she replied, before he said he was ‘dead serious’ that his colleagues had instructed him to do so.
‘Even if you guys weren’t – I might use that in the future, that’s actually a pretty good move,’ Ballard added.
‘This is unbelievable,’ Gaudin proclaimed, before Ballard later said: ‘I should have thought of this years ago.’
That comment drew a laugh from Lauren as she put her number in, but many women in sports media expressed their outrage online at the moment.
‘This is one of the most insanely inappropriate things I’ve ever seen. Like I legitimately cannot believe it’s real,’ CBS MLB editor Katie Feldman said on X.
‘If I had ever done anything close to this, my career would be over. This is…flabbergasting,’ Newsday’s Laura Albanese added.
‘Example #28495 why men get away with the bottom of the barrel content because misogyny is alive and well in sports television,’ CBS Detroit sports anchor and reporter Rachel Hopmayer said. ‘A woman could never and would never without losing their job over this. Lazy, disappointing, offensive, grimey, I could go on. Yikes all around.’
It wasn’t just women that disagreed with Ballard’s actions, as sports broadcaster Jett Beachum said: ‘Uh… this should be condemned, not celebrated. This whole situation is wildly unprofessional.’
Ballard is seen interviewing the Braves’ Michael Harris II at Truist Park in April 2024
Dallas Morning News Rangers beat writer Evan Grant also said: ‘To yesterday: If a female sideline/dugout reporter did this ,she’d be called horrible names and probably be run out of town. On the other side, here’s a fellow TV anchor basically saying to dude who asked for phone numbers: ‘My man.’ It’s not the same for both sexes. It’s just not. And that’s inherently wrong.’
Following the initial segment, Ballard could be seen winking at the camera as he spoke to Lauren, and also posted a picture of a famous scene from ‘Good Will Hunting’ in an apparent reference to his now-viral moment.
In the scene, Matt Damon taunts a rival he met at a bar by saying ‘Do you like apples? Well, I got her number, how do you like them apples?’
Ballard’s post had been liked by over 3,700 users at the time of publishing, and there were also plenty of people who viewed the moment as a lighthearted bit of a humor.
Fox 5 sports reporter Miles Garrett, who initially posted the video on social media, wrote: ‘Shoutout to my guy setting the standard for sports reporters getting a phone number out in the wild. 10/10 work.’
‘Hysterical and fantastic work. The wink was an all-timer,’ one fan said.
‘Get this man a checkmark. He verified himself tonight,’ another added.
‘If that doesn’t win you an Emmy, what are we even doing,’ a third said.
The Braves won 8-4 in Toronto to improve to 5-11 on the season.
