West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle became the centre of controversy, after a video with his comments during an interview with a female TV reporter went viral on Monday. On Tuesday, Gayle was fined $10,000 by his club for "inappropriate conduct".
According to reports, Mel McLaughlin, a reporter with the official broadcaster of the league, interviewed Gayle shortly after he was dismissed and asked the batsman a question on his aggressive batting.
Gayle replied "I wanted to come and have an interview with you as well. That’s the reason why I’m here, just to see your eyes for the first time. It’s nice so. Hopefully we can win this game and have a drink after. Don’t blush, baby."
Watch the video here.
However, the issue later snowballed, with one group of people claiming that it was a joke while another claimed that the cricketer needed to apologize.
Big Bash League boss Anthony Everard tweeted "I heard Chris' comments and they're disrespectful and simply inappropriate."
Addressing the media later, Gayle had said that it was a "simple joke" and that everyone needed to move past it.
"To be honest with you... a lot of things have actually flared up from a simple comment, a simple joke on air, and it seemed to [get] out of proportion. There wasn't anything at all meant to be disrespectful to Mel, or offensive. If she felt that way, then I am really sorry for that. There wasn't any harm meant. It was a simple joke. In entertainment, things get out of proportion. But these things happen and there wasn't any harm done. I will leave it at that," he said.