Australian female reporter Mel McLaughlin has accepted the apology made by the West Indies hard-hitting cricketer Chris Gayle over his remarks in an interview session during a T20 Big Bash League on Monday.
Speaking to the media, the Aussie reporter has said, “I am fine. I am a little bit uncomfortable, I am not used to being at the centre of any sort of story and this one certainly escalated. I am okay,” adding that “I have not spoken to him personally, but I flew home from Hobart earlier today and on airport he issued an apology. I accept that. I just want to move on.”
Elsewhere, the Caribbean batsman has said, “It seemed to be blown out of proportion. There wasn’t anything at all meant to be disrespectful to Mel,” adding “It was a simple comment, a simple joke. “If she felt that way, I’m really sorry for that. There wasn’t any harm meant in that particular way, to harm any particular person in any particular way like that. It was a simple joke … I don’t know how it reached this far, to be honest. It is one of those things.”
Gayle is currently playing for Melbourne Renegades in the Australian Big Bash League (BBL) and during a match against Hobart Hurricanes, he rightly said to McLaughlin, “I wanted to come and have an interview with you as well,” after he was asked over his 15-ball-41 run innings, adding that “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.”
