This is one of three views to be published on the site today. You may read the others here and here. Views are not necessarily those of teenAGE or Jamaica Observer.

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My grandmother always told me there is a time for everything; and the phrase often came when I was speaking out of turn, or outside the terms of what was appropriate for the current conversation.

That is what the world is saying after Chris Gayle’s controversial comments in a live interview with Australian Channel Ten’s Mel McLaughlin. The comments came following Chris Gayle’s brisk innings of 41 off 15 balls for the Melbourne Renegades against Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash T20 League. Chris Gayle suggested that he and McLaughlin ‘go out for a drink’ during what was supposed to be a professional interview about Gayle’s exploits on the cricket field. The female presenter ignored Gayle’s advances but that may have been misinterpreted. The big-hitting batsman responded with ‘don’t blush, baby’.

Chris Gayle is the most travelled Twenty20 cricketer in the world. He has featured in the shortest form in several countries including England, Bangladesh, South Africa, India and obviously Australia. I expect better conduct from the big hitting opener. Such comments might be accepted at home here in Jamaica but aren’t accepted on the other side of the world in a country with a lopsided culture. Not to say that such advances would normally be accepted by women here in Jamaica, but to try something like that on live television in a foreign country lacks thought at the very least.

Spare a thought for Mel McLaughlin. As a woman in a male dominated sport – both on the field and in studio – she is trying to display her competence, but instead had to withstand the advances of a male counterpart. It was quite clear by the look on her face that she was embarrassed and tried her best to side step any off-topic comment. However, this is not generally how women are treated in sport.

With that said, Chris Gayle was disrespectful and inappropriate with his comments. Disrespectful, because he showed a disregard for her profession as a presenter by approaching her as something to be pursued. Innappropriate, because it’s not something to be done on live TV in front of millions. Chris, perhaps needs to be more aware of boundaries. 

As a Jamaican, the ideal plan would be to ‘look’ her after the interview, away from her workplace. The former West Indian captain has always been known as a joker and has never been shy of sharing a word or two, but this is just a step too far.