The law gave him a right to clear his name, but Chris Gayle’s defamation case in Sydney couldn’t have come at a worse time for cricket.
On the back of the Ben Stokes’ late night street fight and the not-yet-forgotten pay dispute, cricket is suffering a bit of a public relations nightmare at the moment. Then comes Chris Gayle’s defamation court case round the corner, like a first over barrage of sixes.
The articles published by Fairfax Media last year, documenting Gayle allegedly exposing his genitals to massage therapist Leanne Russell at the 2015 World Cup, were nothing short of a bombshell.
Gayle thinks they caused damage to his reputation, so he had a right to sue for defamation. In the end, he was vindicated by the jury.
But the hearing, which took over a week, turned up some negative headlines. First we had “Masseuse says Chris Gayle exposed himself in ‘horrific’ incident,” then came “Gayle’s teammate ‘sent sexy text to masseuse before alleged incident’” and then – to top it all off – “Gayle’s attorney says masseuse ‘plainly neurotic.’”
Even if Gayle was proven right in this case, these headlines won’t be forgotten so quickly, especially with damages still due to be awarded and a possible appeal expected. Add to that: Australian cricket’s new summer hit, the Big Bash – a product still strongly linked to Gayle – is just months away.
Gayle didn’t play for the Melbourne Renegades last season after he was delisted, but the big-hitting West Indian was one of the Big Bash’s early pioneers and was a major part of the competition’s success.
His ‘don’t blush baby’ comments – rightly or wrongly – helped put the competition on the map. He still harbours ambitions to play in the tournament again.
None of these most recent headlines are what that competition needs occupying the crease at the moment though. More than any other cricket ‘product’ in Australia, the Big Bash is set up to win over new fans – including families, young kids, wives and girlfriends.
For these reasons and others, this court case must have caused serious headaches at Cricket Australia headquarters. The fact that it landed right in the middle of the Women’s Ashes, a series that Cricket Australia is rightfully working hard to promote – was also far from ideal.
With the 38-year-old still reportedly keen to get a Big Bash contract this season, it’s understandable that he wants to clear his name in Australia, a country he says he still holds dearly. But, his chances could well be hurt by this court case, rather than helped, just because of the stigma.
Even if he does get picked up by a club for one more season, the damage may have already been done. Gayle’s heavy hitting this time around was, as always, highly destructive.
nick
Guest
Couldn't agree more. This is a daft article, banking on sensationalism, which is not great for cricket either. I'm all for the law handling player conduct. That's what it is there for. Unfortunately, the law no longer seems to be sufficient for sport administrator boffins and the hand-wringing lolly pop brigade. For example, the head of NSW cricket got a fine recently for texting in his car. This is a separate issue I know. In response, all players and cricket staff are now subject to an additional standard because of that corporate goose. If they are caught texting in their cars they not only suffer the consequences of the law but also employment consequences, which is just setting some dedicated kid to lose his or her career when a simple fine will do.
richie
Guest
The Big Bash has a few genuine followers mate...6th biggest sporting league in the world for attendance. You obviously dont genuinely follow otherwise you would know the culture is more inclusive and supportive of everyone involved and this appeals to families and kids. Chris Gayles future in this league is probably behind him now.
Brainstrust
Guest
Gayle has been a dud in the BIg Bash, who would want him for their team. You can get two players who each average more than him for the same money. In Gayle's heyday he was huge in the IPL and then would put in wooden spoon performances with the Thunder. I wonder why?
pauld
Guest
Sure your name shouldn't be BrainsThrust up you know where? It was a bad week for Fairfax, who dug their hole a bit deeper with their post verdict judicial attack. Fair enough if you don't like Gayle, but he is far from a dud.
spruce moose
Guest
I did check them out - I'd hardly call them 'headlines' in those countries, but rather filler page sports news. "Cricket news in Australia also definitely spreads around the world and does play a role globally … not just because we are at the start of most overseas news cycles (due to us being awake as they are asleep) but also because – for many reasons – people look up to our cricketing heritage. They respect it." You could replace "cricket" with "democracy" and "Australia" with "America" and then basically you are just regurgitating the same nonsense American presidents spout in every speech. That's just nonsense. You need to watch more cricket overseas. Happy chats with your son! :)
Andre Leslie
Roar Guru
Hi Spruce, I can assure you that the Gayle story most definitely made the news in England, India and South Africa. Check out Google News if you'd like some more headlines. Cricket news in Australia also definitely spreads around the world and does play a role globally ... not just because we are at the start of most overseas news cycles (due to us being awake as they are asleep) but also because - for many reasons - people look up to our cricketing heritage. They respect it. Down the track I'll be happy to talk to my 10-year-old son about the common law legal system, as well as freedom of the press and of course, respect towards women. I'm pretty certain I'll try to talk him out of working in journalism though - not sure it's worth it. But that's a topic for another article :-)
Paul
Roar Guru
really well put Spruce.
spruce moose
Guest
Andre... I very much doubt Chris Gayle made the news in England, India, South Africa, NZ etc etc This was a defamation case between a newspaper and a person, who just happened to be a cricketer. The image of cricket as a global game suffers not one wit as a result of this borderline anonymous case. I don't think anyone knew it was going to court until it did! You seem to be equating the image of cricket in Australia as being pivotal to it's image globally, which is very odd. If you have a 10 year old son, and he reads that article and is inquisitive about it all, then you should have a chat with him about the presumption of innocence, freedom of the press, the decline of journalism standards, the right to a fair trial and other marvelous aspects about a liberal democracy that he/she should be informed in - for they are the issues at hand with Chris Gayle's case. This has nothing to do with the image of cricket, not least in this country.
Liam
Guest
In other news, water is still wet. Seriously, what else are you trying to say than bad press is bad press?
AREH
Roar Guru
Agree, it's better to move on regardless of what you think about Gayle as a person. The less spotlight such things receive, no doubt the better for the sport. I mean, were people actively hoping for Gayle to lose the suit? Resolved by the court, all said and done. Not a lot of point adding much more.
Andre Leslie
Roar Guru
Hi all... thanks for the (mainly critical) feedback. Since it seems to be getting everyone cheesed off: I was never saying that there is any factual link between Stokes' behaviour, the pay dispute of the Australian team and Gayle.... I was just saying that all three of these incidents have been a PR disaster for a sport that tries to orchestrate its marketing quite carefully. Plus, they have all happened within a short space of time. That's all I was trying to say with that point. If you think that Gayle's win in the case means that cricket's all good and his name is totally unsullied, then try reading aloud those headlines mentioned in the article to your average 10-year-old Big Bash fan and see what the little guy's feedback is. Let's hope he shows the nuanced understanding of defamation law that all you guys seem to possess. Sorry, I'm being deliberately polarizing here: my point is, in nasty defamation cases, no matter who wins, some mud sticks.
Chui
Guest
His ‘don’t blush baby’ comments – rightly or wrongly – helped put the competition on the map. He still harbours ambitions to play in the tournament again. Huh?
Rich_daddy
Roar Guru
He's entitled to clear his name if he feels he has been defamed. The jury agreed. The ones with reputational damage is Fairfax not Gayle.
spruce moose
Guest
Bizarre article. Cannot see any connection to the Ben Stokes thing and Chris Gayle. Gayle has been found innocent - therefore it's actually a GOOD thing for cricket. The bad look would have been if he lost his case. A criminal investigation may have followed then. Either way, it's all moot regarding his Big Bash career. He's 38 and in appalling form. If' he's thinking he's due big money, then he's in for a shock.
northerner
Guest
I confess to being a bit confused. Cricket doesn't live in a bubble - what happens in the world - sexual harassment, lawsuits, pay disputes - are part of the social scene and cricket isn't going to escape them. What's so special about cricket that it is exempt from the kinds of publicity that banks, corporations, governments, and other sports have to deal with regularly?
Paul
Roar Guru
This is a poorly written story. The issue at the centre of this is the decision about some articles in the Fairfax media alleging Gayle had done certain things. He has been found not guilty, so right now it done and dusted. What the author has tried to do is link this to the following pay dispute - Chris Gayle not involved so why is it mentioned? Ben Stokes incident - Chris Gayle not involved so why is it mentioned? Women's Ashes - Gayle's not involved and there's rightly been no comment from either camp These other points were newsworthy in their own right but have nothing to do with this. Sure it would have been better to have sorted this out and announced a decision in the footy season but Gayle's entitled to have a decision made in a reasonable time frame.
Marshall
Guest
Huh, isn't it a bad look for Fairfax, not cricket or Gayle, given they were found to have been defamatory?
Basil
Guest
He was cleared... move on. It's only a bad look if people like yourself continually rehash it. The question is - Do you want for it to be a bad look?
Brainstrust
Guest
Why would you select Gayle for a Big Bash team when his record is below average. There seem to be a lot of dodgy voices on here who support Gayle because certainly his record in the Big Bash despite his pay is poor so no fans of any Big Bash team would want to have him. The question is why that record so bad given the standard in the IPL is so much higher. Last two season Gayle has been poor in the IPL, so he will be facing a big pay cut. The next question does the Big Bash have anyone who genuinely follows the competition because if an IPL team had a dud performer being paid top dollar the fans would turn on them.
Simoc
Guest
It's not a bad look for cricket. The AFL Tigers incident is way worse as is just about every other incident that occurs in everyday life.