Columnist Who Made Cringey Remarks To Caitlin Clark Won't Cover Indiana Fever Games

Indianapolis Star sports columnist Gregg Doyel, who went viral over an awkward exchange he had with Caitlin Clark last month, wont be covering any Indiana Fever games this season.

Citing unnamed sources, Indianapolis-based journalist Bob Kravitz reported Tuesday on his Substack that Doyel had been given a two-week suspension over the incident with Clark.

The IndyStar declined to comment on the alleged suspension, citing its policies.

Indianapolis Star sports columnist Gregg Doyel will not be covering the Indiana Fever, Star spokesperson Lark-Marie Anton said in a statement to HuffPost.

The news comes weeks after Doyel was criticized for making cringey remarks to the Fever rookie during her introductory press conference with the team on April 17. The back-and-forth between Doyel and Clark began after he made a heart sign at her during the news conference.

You like that? Clark said in response to the gesture, a reference to the athletes signature move that she does to her family after games.

I like that youre here, Doyel said.

I do that with my family after every game, Clark added. 

Start doing it to me, and well get along just fine, Doyel replied.

Doyels remarks were seen as creepy, sexist and inappropriate by people on social media, leading the columnist to apologize for the exchange.

In a post on X , formerly called Twitter, Doyel said that his comments were clumsy and awkward, adding, I sincerely apologize. Please know my heart (literally and figuratively) was well-intentioned. I will do better.

He apologized to Clark again in a column he wrote addressing the incident shortly after it happened.

However, some people took issue with his column, saying that it centered on him and not Clark or the reason for Doyels apology.