There are, surely, few better ways to welcome in the new year than with a row about sexism. The latest involves West Indies cricketer, Chris Gayle, and an interview he gave earlier this week during a Big Bash League T20 match in Hobart, Australia.

Gayle, who plays for Melbourne Renegades, was being interviewed live on television in the aftermath of his innings by the host nation’s Mel McLaughlin when she asked for his thoughts on his performance. He replied: “To see your eyes for the first time is nice. Hopefully we can have a drink afterwards.” When she was clearly not receptive to his offer, he said: “Don't blush baby,” before she continued the interview by asking about his injury status.

It was, admittedly, a slightly strange answer from Gayle to a fairly straightforward question and in the aftermath, Gayle apologised to McLaughlin. It was reported that the television presenter was embarrassed by Gayle’s comments during their interview but her response was measured.

She said: “I know he issued an apology- I accept that and I just want to move on. Of course you don’t expect to get that answer (from Gayle). It’s a little bit disappointing because it just doesn’t happen normally but I don’t really want to be the subject of such conversations, I like just going about my business and doing my job.”

The wider reaction to Gayle has been nothing short of incredible. The batsman received a barrage of criticism on social media for his comments with the 36 year-old being widely condemned as sexist and pathetic. He was even accused of sexual harassment.

Anthony Everard, head of the Big Bash League, said that Gayle’s comments were “disrespectful and inappropriate” and Cricket Australia boss, James Sutherland, went further and said that Gayle's comments could be equated with workplace harassment. Gayle was then fined A$10,000 by his club for ‘inappropriate conduct’.

Now, I would be the first person to denounce sexism or misogyny within sport but I think everyone needs to take a step back here. By vilifying Gayle for this offence, if you want to call it that, we lose sight of the bigger picture. Yes, Gayle’s comments were somewhat inappropriate and McLaughlin had every right to be embarrassed about the incident. But rather than slaughtering Gayle for it, we should laugh at him for believing that this slightly crass and extremely cheesy chat-up line would actually work.

Gayle himself has said that his remarks were “a simple joke” and he feels the reaction has been “blown out of proportion”. I have to agree. By denouncing Gayle quite so strongly implies that men cannot say a single thing to a woman in a professional setting for fear of being branded a misogynist. Gayle was not threatening or intimidating towards McLaughlin, he was merely asking her for a date. The batsman said that it was all in the name of ‘entertainment’ and while Kevin Bridges need not be shaking in his shoes just yet, I cannot be persuaded to join in with the cacophony of objection that has been all over the internet this week.

The primary reason that I do not feel the need to rebuke Gayle is that we have far greater battles to fight when it comes to equality for women within sport. For example, Serena Williams was awarded the prestigious Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year award last month. In receiving this accolade, she became the first women to win the award outright since Mary Decker in 1983.

Similarly, the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year, the winner of which was decided on by an ‘expert panel’ until this year when it was a public vote, has been awarded to a woman just once in the past 27 years. That Dan Carter was judged to have had a better year in 2015 than Serena Williams says all we need to know about the ingrained sexism that prevails within sport. That women’s achievements in sport, however great, are not valued to the same extent as their male counterparts is the biggest barrier to equality.

This is not to minimise the reality that female sports journalists encounter sexism because they most certainly do, particularly those who report on male-dominated sports. The BBC’s Natalie Pirks wrote last year of the sexist abuse that she has been on the receiving end of while reporting at football matches and other female sports journalists have told of the threats of violence and rape that have been directed towards them.

Female journalists remain very much in the minority within sport but it does none of us any good by overreacting to comments like Gayle’s because, as has been reported, Maria Sharapova flirted with a male journalist in a similar way last year and created no reaction whatsoever. There is still much work to be done when it comes to achieving equality in sport but crucifying a daft cricketer for a dodgy chat-up line isn’t the way to achieve it.