Indy Star columnist Gregg Doyel was off the WNBA beat following the criticism he received over his interactions with Caitlin Clark and Christie Sides at the Indiana Fever’s post-WNBA Draft press conference last week.
Gannett told Fox News Digital that Doyel was off Fever games. Veteran sports writer Bob Kravitz first reported that the columnist received a two-week suspension.
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Caitlin Clark during the ESPN+ “Full Court Press” premiere at The Tobias Theater at Newfields on May 6, 2024, in Indianapolis. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
“Indianapolis Star sports columnist Gregg Doyel will not be covering the Indiana Fever,” Indy Star spokesperson Lark-Marie Anton told Fox News Digital.
Doyel didn’t disperse any information to Kravitz about his reporting but said he was “choosing to lay low and prepare for a trip to visit his son.” He was reportedly expected to return this coming Monday.
Doyel last wrote about the Indianapolis Colts on April 29.
Doyel took a lot of heat on social media for his bizarre interaction with Clark. Before he asked her a question at her welcoming press conference, Doyel formed a heart symbol with his hands for Clark.
CAITLIN CLARK AT CENTER OF ANOTHER AWKWARD QUESTION BEFORE WNBA PRESEASON DEBUT
Gregg Doyel, IndyStar sports columnist (Robert Scheer/IndyStar/USA Today Network)
Clark asked Doyel whether he liked that, and he responded, “I like that you’re here.”
Clark said she makes the gesture with her hands to her family “after every game.”
“Start doing it to me, and we’ll get along,” Doyel responded.
While talking to Sides, the Fever’s head coach, he referred to Clark as “that” and “it.”
Doyel later apologized.
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“Today in my uniquely oafish way, while welcoming @CaitlinClark22 to Indy, I formed my hands into her signature (hand heart emoji),” he wrote on X. “My comment afterward was clumsy and awkward. I sincerely apologize. Please know my heart (literally and figuratively) was well-intentioned. I will do better.”
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