The phrase: “Don’t blush, baby” seems like a nice, innocent statement to make — that is unless you’re Chris Gayle and you’re in the middle of being interviewed on live TV about your side’s current cricket match.
The West Indian superstar was in the middle of match during the Big Bash League T20 tournament in Australia, when he was interviewed onscreen by TV journalist Mel McLaughlin. When asked about his side’s performance, the former West Indies captain instead answered by telling the interviewer that she had ‘nice eyes’ and that perhaps they ‘could go for a drink after’ the game.
Gayle was subsequently fined A$10,000 (Dhs25,000) by his club for “inappropriate conduct”, and apologised for the incident telling reporters: “There wasn’t anything meant to be disrespectful or offensive to Mel. If she felt that way, I’m really sorry for that. It was a simple joke.”
McLaughlin has said his date request was “a little bit disappointing because I’m not used to seeing that”.
“I don’t really want to be the subject of such conversations,” she told her network.