Cricketer Chris Gayle Creeps On Female Reporter During Live TV Interview; Channel Ten Calls It “Smooth”

Five days in to 2016, and between the Jamie Briggs saga and the Peter Dutton “mad fucking witch” idiocy, the new year already looks to be setting a land-speed record for high-profile cases of sexism.

Last night the cricketing Big Bash League’s Melbourne Renegades took on the Hobart Hurricanes in Tasmania, and former West Indies Test captain Chris Gayle managed to squeeze in some fairly sleazy comments in a sideline interview with Channel Ten reporter Mel McLaughlin.

After being asked by McLaughlin about the game, Gayle responded by saying he was doing the interview “just to see your eyes for the first time, it’s nice, so…hopefully win this game and we can have a drink after. Don’t blush, baby!”

A clearly uncomfortable McLaughlin pressed on, asking Gayle questions about injuries, to which he responded with another hilarious gag about “seeing her eyes,” all to the soundtrack of wheezing laughter from the male commentators sitting in the Channel Ten studio.

The interview quickly started doing the rounds online, with TEN Sport TV describing it in a tweet as “smooth”. Once it became apparent that people’s reaction to the interview was largely negative, though, the tweet was unceremoniously taken down.

BBL and Channel Ten higher-ups were quick to shut down Gayle’s comments; BBL head Anthony Everard released a statement saying there was “just no place” in cricket for “that sort of behaviour,” while TEN Sport TV abruptly changed their tune and commended McLaughlin on her professionalism. The shift in tone didn’t go unnoticed.

@tensporttv @Mel_Mclaughlin After you called him “#Smooth” … ??? pic.twitter.com/X9ePOtB5kn

— Brian Gibson (@GibboFootball) January 4, 2016

The interview itself is already beginning to make headlines in international media, with Deadspin and Complex picking up the story. At the time of publication, idiot dudes everywhere were loudly proclaiming that “he’s just having a bit of fun” and wondering “why no one can take a joke anymore,” before going on to point out that “it’s not like she was raped or anything”.