Jamaican-born international cricket player Chris Gayle has been fined $7,200 for asking a sports reporter out on a date during an interview on live television.
The incident took place during an Australian league match Monday, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reports. During the interview, broadcast on Australia’s Ten Network, Gayle says to the visibly uncomfortable presenter Mel McLaughlin: “I want to come and have an interview with you as well.”
He adds: “To see your eyes for the first time is nice. Hopefully we can win this game and have a drink after. Don’t blush baby.”
Gayle’s team, the Melbourne Renegades, has formally apologized to McLaughlin on behalf of Gayle, who has a track record of propositioning female journalists according to the ABC.
The head of Cricket Australia James Sutherland was meanwhile quoted by the BBC as saying that a cricket match was “not a nightclub.” He said: “I think one of the things that perhaps hasn’t dawned on everyone is it’s actually a workplace,” and added that Gayle’s behavior constituted workplace harassment.
Gayle holds several world records in the sport of cricket and captained the West Indies squad in the three years to 2010. He told reporters later, “There wasn’t anything meant to be disrespectful or offensive to Mel. If she felt that way, I’m really sorry for that.”
[ABC]
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