West Indies batsman Chris Gayle has claimed that he was not treated rightly and was the victim of “double standards” after he was accused of sexism following a comment on a female journalist in Australia.
Chris Gayle was severely criticised after his remarks on a female journalist named Mel McLaughlin.The West Indies batsman told McLaughlin: “I wanted to see your eyes for the first time, hopefully we can win this game and then we can have a drink after as well”. Gayle then added: “Don’t blush, baby.”
The left-hander was not only fined 10,000 Australian dollars (USD 7,400) by his team but they also decided against renewing his contract.
Gayle was once again involved in a similar incident during this year’s IPL when he boasted about his “very, very big bat” and asked journalist Charlotte Edwardes from British newspaper The Times if she had ever had a threesome.
“I didn’t feel like I was being treated right at that particular time,” he said in an interview with the BBC World Service’s Stumped programme, extracts of which were published Friday ahead of Saturday’s broadcast.
Gayle, who is currently playing for Somerset in English cricket’s domestic T20 Blast event, said that he was used as a scapegoat and accused the BBL of tarnishing his image.
“The way of going about it… and the media making a big mockery out of it.
“To go into details, it was straight up just a lot of double standards.
“That story didn’t get me down one bit. It didn’t affect me, I must say. It was just ridiculous how they go about it — trying to use me as a big scapegoat.”
He added: “For someone being part of the Big Bash for so many years, who actually built the Big Bash from day one, the same name they used to build the Big Bash is the same name they want to tarnish.
“The Chris Gayle from the first season, if you check it, it was Chris Gayle who started that Big Bash and it blew up this big now — and next they want to say, ‘you should ban Chris Gayle… you should get rid of Chris Gayle from all leagues around the world… Chris is sexist’.
“You can’t brand me for running a joke like that, it’s just unfortunate and people have their agenda against other people as well.”
Gayle, who played a brilliant innings in the final of the recently concluded IPL,had a forgettable first match in England as he fell for only five on his Somerset return against Sussex on Wednesday.