*West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle has been fined $10,000 for “inappropriate conduct” after he asked a TV reporter for a date during a live interview. He was speaking to journalist Mel McLaughlin during a Big Bash League T20 match on Monday when he said: ”To see your eyes for the first time is nice. Hopefully we can have a drink afterwards. Don’t blush baby.”
“I’m not blushing,” she said.
McLaughlin tried to control the conversation by asking him about an injury, but when Chris continued with his unwanted advances, she ended the interview.
Check out the uncomfortable moment in the clip below.
Gayle has apologized for his actions, but he also mocked the incident by tweeting a photo of an empty bed, saying he was tired. He then said his teammate Dwayne Bravo was buying him a meal because his “pockets were empty”.
He also retweeted a comment from broadcaster and cricket fan Piers Morgan, who said he was “outraged at the outrage” at Gayle being “a bit cheeky to a female TV reporter.”
BBL organizers released a statement about the interview, saying, “I heard Chris’ comments and they’re disrespectful and simply inappropriate. We’ll certainly be talking to him and the Renegades about it. This league is all about its appeal to kids, families and females. There’s just no place in the BBL—or, for that matter, cricket anywhere—for that sort of behavior.”
McLaughlin has since said she accepts Gayle’s apology and wants to put the incident behind her.
“I don’t really want to be the subject of such conversations, I like just going about my business and doing my job,” she said.
Sexist, sleazy or both? Whatever it is, @Mel_Mclaughlin handles this exchange with Chris Gayle superbly @henrygayle pic.twitter.com/JQyIUiNV3l
— Auskar Surbakti (@AuskarSurbakti) January 4, 2016
Later, Gayle was questioned about the incident and anded up shutting down the interview:
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