A very awkward moment between Caitlin Clark and a local reporter during her Indiana Fever introductory press conference has led to that individual being banned from covering the team in person for the season.
Last month, Indianapolis Star sports columnist Gregg Doyel went from covering the news to being in it when he had a somewhat creepy interaction with the top overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft during her first press event for the Fever.
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Doyel made a heart symbol with his hands toward Clark before his first question. It is something she has become famous for during her rise to fame over the last two years. “You like that? Yeah, I do that at my family after every game,” Clark said in response.
“Start doing it to me and we’ll get along just fine,” Doyel said in what is now one of the weirder and more awkward moments in sports this year. Well, that odd interaction has landed him a serious punishment from the Indianapolis Star.
Veteran sporter reporter Bob Kravitz revealed on Tuesday that Doyel has been suspended by the news outlet and has been banned from covering Indiana Fever games for the the 2024 season. He will still watch the team for column work but will have to do so by viewing the team on television.
Doyel has not had a story posted since April 29 and it is unclear if it is a paid or unpaid suspension. Following the weird moment, the veteran writer wrote an apology column to the former Iowa Hawkeyes star.
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“I now realize what I said and how I said it was wrong, wrong, wrong. I mean it was just wrong. Caitlin Clark, I’m so sorry,” he wrote in the column.
Clark is just 22 years old while Doyel is nearly twice as old, which was a key part of why the moment came off so badly.
