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McLaughlin accepts Gayle's apology

Big Bash League presenter Mel McLaughlin admits disappointment, but accepts Chris Gayle's apology

Network Ten KFC Big Bash League presenter Mel McLaughlin says that while she was disappointed by Chris Gayle's conduct during an interview during match coverage on Monday night she has accepted his apology and now wants to move on.

Penalty: Gayle handed hefty fine, warned

After Gayle's mid-interview propositions sparked condemnation from Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland and the Head of the BBL, Anthony Everard, the West Indian issued an apology at Melbourne Airport today and was later fined $10,000 by the Melbourne Renegades.

Chris Gayle has fronted the media the day after his controversial interview with Mel McLaughlin, which CA boss James Sutherland has admonished

McLaughlin, speaking to Network Ten's The Project tonight, admitted to being taken aback when Gayle deviated from cricket talk to inviting her for a drink.

"I’m a little bit uncomfortable. I’m not really used to being in the centre of any sort of story and this one certainly escalated, but I’m okay,” McLaughlin said.

"It was certainly unexpected. It was obviously a little disappointing because he had done so well out there with the bat.

"He’d scored 41 off 15 balls, smashing sixes and I was really excited to talk to him about that.

"I would have much preferred to be talking about that instead.”

Chris Gayle wasted no time at Blundstone Arena, launching an assault that featured three huge sixes on his way to 41 off 15 balls

McLaughlin said it was the first time she had felt disrespected in her role as a presenter and journalist while covering the BBL, and was unsure what positives could now come from what happened.

"I suppose you can always learn from every experience,” said McLaughlin.

"No doubt there’s something to take out of this but I know myself that the attitudes are extremely positive. I’ve always felt respect on the sidelines.

"I know that attitudes have completely changed. There’s a certain stigma that people like to talk about with women in sport. I haven’t felt that. I love my job and I’d just rather be talking about that.

"Yes it’s meant something to a lot of female journos, men as well, and women in general - it’s certainly struck a chord I guess."

McLaughlin’s is a sentiment with which Kara Sutherland, who plays for the Sydney Sixers in the Rebel Women’s Big Bash League agrees. While McLaughlin says she’s always been respected on the sidelines, Sutherland says that support for players on the pitch is on the whole very positive.

"From a playing point of view the support from the male players especially for the WBBL has just been outstanding,” Sutherland told cricket.com.au. "On the whole, they’ve just been really supportive of the involvement of women in the game. Be it in journalism, in playing, in spectating - any facet of it really.

"I guess it’s just that you get the odd player that, I don’t know whether he thinks he’s above it, but I think the vast majority is a culture of acceptance of women in the game.

"From what I’ve been exposed to I think that most WBBL and BBL clubs are quite close in that regard," continued Sutherland. "A lot of players know each other from state cricket - at the Sixers it’s almost a one club mentality, it doesn’t matter whether youre in the WBBL or BBL."

Earlier, McLaughlin told Ten Eyewitness News: "I like just going about my business and just doing my job.

"But it's definitely a good thing that people are talking. We want equality, we always want equality and I’ve always felt in my career I’ve got nothing but respect.”

"I know that attitudes have completely changed. There’s a certain stigma that people like to talk about with women in sport. I haven’t felt that. I love my job and I’d just rather be talking about that.

"Yes it’s meant something to a lot of female journos, men as well, and women in general - it’s certainly struck a chord I guess."

Sutherland is one such woman. 

"It’s positive that you’ve got females in positions such as being on the panel of both the BBL and WBBL,  and that you’ve got female journalists on the sidelines, I think that’s the positive thing,” said Sutherland. 

"And you’re seeing more female journalists across the board in Australia. It’s positive that they’re in that position in the first place, but obviously a massive negative that these women are put in this exact sort of situation [that McLaughlin was put in].

"I guess when you’ve got someone who’s instagram name is ‘World Boss”, I don’t know that he’s really going to listen to anyone that much. Obviously it’s just come out that he’s been fined $10,000, but that’s probably water off a duck’s back,” said Sutherland.

 "I guess the best way would be for it to come from other players, and it was interesting to hear from Chris Rogers today, and hear him condemning Gayle’s behaviour."

"I think the reason he thinks he did it was because he was just trying to impress the boys and get a laugh out of the boys, but there are just other ways that he could have shown his personality and been just as funny.”

Sutherland is confident that the positives outweight the negatives, and like McLaughlin the overwhelming feeling isn’t of resentment or illwill, but of disappointment and an eagerness to move on.

"I think there have been so many positives with both the BBL and WBBL in the last few days,” said Sutherland. "Crowds in Melbourne for both the women’s and the men’s games were just phenomenal, the ratings they’re getting on tv as well, and to have all those positive things for cricket in this country overshadowed by such a silly remark, it’s just disappointing I think." 

For McLaughlin, it is time to move on.

"I’ve not spoken to him (Chris) personally,” finished McLaughlin. “But I flew home from Hobart earlier today and at Melbourne Airport I know he issued an apology.

"I accept that and I just want to move on.”

Melbourne Renegades West Indies import Chris Gayle addresses his comments made during a Big Bash League interview with Mel McLaughlin

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