Newspaper Bans Indiana Columnist From Interviewing Caitlin Clark After Inappropriate Comments

Caitlin Clark has been the talk of the sports world for a long time, and her stardom has begun to rise even more. The famed NCAA phenom ended her time with the Iowa Hawkeyes and walked away as the highest-scoring player in NCAA history.

Clark declared for the WNBA draft before she exited college, and was then selected No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever. Multiple WNBA teams saw the writing on the wall and began to make moves to prepare for her arrival, with some teams moving their games with the Fever to bigger stadiums. Even Disney+ is set to stream her debut as a first-ever live sports event for the streamer.

Clark's arrival has been chock full of excitement and inspiration, but one Indiana columnist took things a bit too far when the new Fever guard was introduced to the press. During an awkward exchange, Indianapolis Star columnist and WNBA columnist Gregg Doyel made some inappropriate comments that went immediately viral.

Doyel began the interaction by making the heart hand symbol to Clark, which is something she had often done to her family after games with the Hawkeyes.

After Doyel made the hand gesture, Clark asked, "Oh, you like that?" which prompted a response from Doyel who stated, "I like that you're here." The uncomfortable interaction led to Clark trying to recover the interview, as she states she makes that symbol to her family after games.

Still, Doyel goes a bit further stating, "Start doing it to me, and we'll get along fine." The comments were highly inappropriate, and it only got worse after that.

Doyel then asked Fever head coach Christie Sides, "You were just given the keys to that [Clark], what are you gonna do with it?" Doyel appeared to turn Clark into an object instead of referring to her as a person and world-renowned basketball player.

The comments led to public outrage, and Doyel apologized on X and wrote a column attempting to state how regretful he was for his interaction with Clark.

Former Star reporter Bob Kravitz revealed that despite his apology, the punishment for Doyel has come down, which included a two-week suspension from the Indiana Star's owner Gannett, and the paper itself. Doyel is also banned from attending any of the Fever games and interviewing Clark again.

Gannett declined to comment on personnel matters, but did share the following statement, attributed to Star Spokesperson Lark-Marie Anton, with Newsweek via email:

"Indianapolis Star sports columnist Gregg Doyel will not be covering the Indiana Fever."

Newsweek also reached out to both Star Executive Editor Eric Larsen, who declined additional comment, and Sports Director Nat Newell via email seeking comment on Kravitz' report.

Doyel is still permitted to write and cover the games, but must do so from home or somewhere else that is not the Gainbridge Fieldhouse Stadium, where the Fever play their home games. Doyel's actions are inexcusable, and he will likely be far more regretful knowing he cannot interview arguably the greatest star the WNBA has ever and will ever see.

Whether it was the Star that took matters into its own hands to ban Doyel from interacting with Clark, or it was her and her camp that decided this — Doyel cannot speak to the WNBA star for the remainder of the season.

Correction 5/09/24, 3:27 p.m. ET: This article was updated to correctly refer to Doyel's title as "columnist."