Fairfax Media wanted to "destroy" West Indies cricketer CHRIS GAYLE by publishing allegations of "very serious sexual impropriety" about him, his barrister told the NSW Supreme Court on the first day of his defamation trial against the publisher, according to Michaela Whitbourn of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. BRUCE MCCLINTOCK, SC, acting for Gayle, told a four-person jury on Monday that Fairfax mastheads the SMH, The Age and The Canberra Times had published "quite foul" and "quite wrong" allegations that he exposed himself to a woman in a dressing room in Sydney in '15. He said that it was a "work of fiction" and Fairfax journalists acted dishonestly and maliciously "to harm my client and damage his reputation." Gayle is suing Fairfax Media over a series of articles published between Jan. 6 and Jan. 9 last year, which he says falsely claimed he "exposed his genitals to" and "indecently propositioned" a female massage therapist in the West Indies team dressing room during the 2015 Cricket World Cup. He said, "No I didn't," when asked by his barrister if he exposed himself to the woman. He added, "It never happened" (SMH, 10/23).
