I wonder what Mel McLaughlin does in other situations when she gets invited out for a drink? Surely she gets invitations and all she needs to say is yes or no. It is a simple request requiring a simple answer but Gayle has been fined $10000 for doing what men and some women do every day.

People seem horrified because it happened in the work place but what is wrong with that? If a man asks his workmate in the next cubicle would he like to go fishing on the weekend is that a crime? No workplace would stop that from happening. Women seem to want to be able to control what men will look at them, talk to them or invite them out. It seems it is a good thing if you like the other person but if you do not like him then he is ‘sleazy’ and it is harassment. Repeated asking when the woman says no is harassment.

The question is the same whoever puts it and the answer is always a simple yes or no. Trying to make it in to some gender bashing exercise shows how precious some women have become and how much they want to control men.

The question of his ‘reputation’ is dragged into the fight to put him down. If he has a reputation then why has nothing been done in the past? Obviously what he has done has not been sufficiently bad to warrant punishment and so should not be taken into account when dealing with this incident. What kind of justice system takes into account a person’s reputation before handing out penalties? The judgement should be on the facts as presented in a particular incident.

The cricket administration should be ashamed of themselves. They have shown themselves to be afraid of opinion and do not stand for justice and a person’s right to be treated according to genuine values.

Dear oh Dear, it is no wonder the Australian birth rate is falling.
Men are now afraid to ask a girl out for a drink.
Say that she is attractive and you accused of being creepy or worse.

Don't knock it ladies, or you might be left on the shelf.

What does Mel McLaughlin do in other situations?

I imagine she does what she did in this one.
Her job!

Mel McLaughlin did not make a fuss. She behaved
professionally. She did not stir, complain,
or make a big deal out of the incident.
That she left up to others to do.

Agreed Foxy. It was the rest of the media who blew this interview out of proportion.
This sportsman should have been more professional when being interviewed re his job, but I doubt he has the intellect to realize that.
It was obvious the journalist did not find him attractive in any way, but he didn't pick up on that at all.

Foxy:

I don’t think she was that professional. If she had been professional she would have not been affected at all. Clearly she was thrown and became self-conscious and when you are self-conscious then you are not conscious of your job. Many interviewers are met with responses they do not anticipate but maintain their composure. It was the fact that she became ill at ease that made everyone want to put their arms around her and crucify Gayle.

The cricket administration wanted to crucify him to the point of 10,000 dollars. What exactly did he do wrong? You can’t make someone feel ill at ease unless they already are. It is the protectiveness of the whole response that patronises women. Are they so frail that everyone comes to their defence simply because they feel awkward especially when such awkwardness comes from a lack of self-belief? Although other women journalists have hopped on the band wagon it only shows their lack of self confidence. If it happened to them then they should have dealt with it at the time. If they did not then why not? If you can’t deal with it then accept you can’t deal with it and not just speak up when you have someone else to hide behind.

Suzeonline:

Why do you doubt his intellect?

Why do you think he wanted her to feel attracted to him? She doesn’t have to feel attracted to have a drink with him nor does it mean he feels attracted to her. People do have drinks that are not attracted to each other. Maybe the conclusion that people jump to says more about them than the two people in question.

Dear phanto,

I feel this is all a storm in a teacup.

The people involved have moved on.

We should as well.