Gregg Doyel, a sports columnist for the Indianapolis Star, has been widely criticized after his awkward interaction with Caitlin Clark, the Indiana Fever’s highly touted first-round draft pick.
During Clark’s introductory news conference, Doyel flashed her a heart symbol with his hands, a gesture often used by Clark herself. The basketball star noticed this and asked, “You like that?” to which Doyel replied, “I like that you’re here.”
Clark then explained that she typically makes the gesture to her family after games, leading Doyel to double down with the remark, “OK, well, start doing it to me and we’ll get along just fine.”
The cringe-worthy moment quickly went viral on social media and many condemned Gregg Doyel’s comments as inappropriate and emblematic of the persistent issues female athletes face in gaining respect and equal treatment from predominately male sports media.
The columnist later took to X to issue an apology. He wrote:
“Today in my uniquely oafish way, while welcoming @CaitlinClark22 to Indy, I formed my hands into her signature 🫶. My comment afterward was clumsy and awkward. I sincerely apologize. Please know my heart (literally and figuratively) was well-intentioned. I will do better.“
In his column titled “Caitlin Clark, I’m so sorry. Today I was part of the problem,” Gregg Doyel acknowledged his misstep and expressed remorse for his insensitive behavior.
“After going through denial, and then anger — I’m on the wrong side of this? Me??? — I now realize what I said and how I said it was wrong, wrong, wrong. I mean it was just wrong,” he wrote. “Caitlin Clark, I’m so sorry.”
