Most people who’d experienced the ‘don’t blush baby’ controversy would move on, apologise and try to forget it ever happened. Not Chris Gayle…Gayle is an incredibly talented cricketer, one who demands respect on the pitch and vast sums of money for his services. On that score there is no debate.
Whether he likes it or not however he is a role model and an ambassador for the sport he plays.
During his Big Bash League stint for Melbourne Renegades in January he was interviewed by Channel Ten’s Mel McLaughlin and attracted criticism as Gayle asked McLaughlin to come out for a drink with him, before adding “don’t blush baby” when the interviewer visibly squirmed.
Gayle had previously told McLaughlin: “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 we can have a drink after. Don’t blush, baby.”
Gayle discounted his antics as a joke and said “there wasn’t any harm done” and his comments had been “blown out of proportion”.
“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,” Gayle said later. “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.”
Gayle was fined $10,000 by his BBL05 franchise - money that was donated to the Jane McGrath Foundation.
But Gayle, showing little contrition in the wake of the furore has not left it at that.
He continues to sign off many of his posts on Twitter with the #dontblushbaby hashtag and on Valentine’s Day revisited the controversy, this time by signing off at the end of an interview with former Australian all-rounder Tom Moody with “Cheers Tom. Don’t blush, Tom”.
Of course Gayle and the broadcasters thought it was hilarious. It was meant in jest, meant to make light of the recent furore, but what it shows is Gayle still believes he is a non-stick celebrity and has not changed a bit. His comments make light of the original issue - that he completely and unacceptably was out of order in January.
Surely the worry is that the man that keeps telling everyone else not to blush is the man that should have blushed a little bit more himself?
James Buttler
As the editor of Cricket Badger he is intent on building the website to give quality coverage of the domestic game around the world.
James was the full-time Media Manager at Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 2007 and 2010.
James is a published author and a writer/video contributor to many cricket publications.
He's unsurprisingly a complete cricket badger!
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