Chris Gayle is a West Indian cricket player currently playing for the Melbourne Renegades in the Australian Big Bash League. During a mid-match interview with Mel McLaughlin of TEN Sports, he made several slimy passes at the sideline reporter. Asked about his performance, Gayle said that wanted to do well, but that he also wanted to come for an interview with McLaughlin: "That's the reason I'm here, so, just to see your eyes for the first time." He added, "Hopefully we can win this game and we can have a drink after—don't blush, baby."McLaughlin simply responded, "I'm not blushing," and tried to proceed with the interview. Her colleagues in the booth, who could be heard laughing in the background as this exchange took place, were left speechless once the interview mercifully came to a close, perhaps catching on to how skeevy the whole episode was. After a few minutes, they recovered enough to laud McLaughlin for her professionalism and criticize Gayle for his inappropriate behavior.Shortly after the game, Big Bash League head Anthony Everard released a statement about the incident.
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Apparently this was not Gayle's first time directing inappropriate comments at reporters trying to do their jobs. In 2014, Gayle responded to a reporter's question about the quality of the pitch he was about to play on by saying, "Well, I haven't touched yours yet, so I don't know how it feels." He went on to compliment her smile: "I like your smile, that's nice…. Yeah, that's really good."If you haven't showered yet today, now's a pretty good time.[Reddit]Statement re Chris Gayle on air comments tonight. pic.twitter.com/Zq6xn8fquW
— Anthony Everard (@BigBashLeagueHQ) January 4, 2016