Gayle avoids suspension over interview

Chris Gayle had an awkward interview with Channel Ten’s Mel McLaughlin © Getty Images

Chris Gayle has been fined $10,000 by the Melbourne Renegades for his comments during an interview with Channel Ten journalist Mel McLaughlin during Monday night’s BBL match in Hobart. The Renegades CEO Stuart Coventry announced the sanction at a press conference in Melbourne on Tuesday afternoon and said that Gayle’s fine would be donated to the McGrath Foundation.

The incident was described by Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland as “borderline harassment”, but the Renegades stopped short of suspending Gayle. Coventry said he believed the incident – in which Gayle used a mid-match interview to ask McLaughlin out and told her “don’t blush, baby” – was a one-off.

“We had a look at some history and precedents established in the past, the circumstance that was in place this time, and we think that this is a one-off scenario,” Coventry said when asked how the Renegades had decided on the fine. “We looked at Chris’ attitude over the last four or five weeks in the Big Bash and we think it’s been outstanding. We’ve come up with a fine scenario.”

More to follow

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Source: ESPN Crickinfo

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