Indianapolis Star columnist Gregg Doyel will not be covering the Indiana Fever or rookie superstar Caitlin Clark when their regular season kicks off on May 14, according to multiple reports.
“Gregg Doyel, the Indianapolis Star columnist who was roundly criticized for his actions during Caitlin Clark’s introductory press conference April 17, is in the middle of a two-week suspension handed down by the Star’s owners, Gannett, and by the Star itself, according to multiple sources,” journalist Bob Kravitz wrote on May 7.
Additionally, WISH News 8 reported on May 7 that Gannett Co., Inc., which owns the Indianapolis Star, handed out the suspension. WISH News also noted that “Doyel will not be covering the Indiana Fever” at all this upcoming season, which Fox News 59 also corroborated.
Doyel’s removal from the Fever beat comes at the tail end of a bizarre and inappropriate line of questioning he directed at Clark, specifically.
A Recap of Banned Reporter Gregg Doyel’s Interaction With Fever Star Caitlin Clark
In her introductory presser with the Fever, Clark, the first overall selection of the draft this year, fielded various questions about leaving the University of Iowa to enter the professional game, but Doyel’s question wasn’t about basketball, necessarily.
The exchange began when Doyel emulated and asked about the heart symbol Clark makes with her hands and displays to her family at the conclusion of every game. “You like that?” Clark asked him. “I like that you’re here,” Doyel responded.
“I do that to my family after every game. Pretty cool,” Clark said, explaining the gesture.
“Start doing it to me, and we’ll get along just fine,” Doyel replied back.
Doyel later issued an apology for his comments in his column for the Star.
“In my haste to be clever, to be familiar and welcoming (or so I thought), I offended Caitlin and her family,” Doyel wrote on April 18. “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.”
Fever’s First Preseason Game Sold Out
The Fever and their fans are already feeling the Caitlin Clark effect, as Indy’s first preseason game sold out, with many more sellouts likely coming.
Just under 19 million people tuned in to watch Clark and Iowa fall to the South Carolina Gamecocks in the national championship, making it the most watched college basketball game in history, according to ESPN.
Clark finished with 21 points (she shot 6-15 from the field 5-13 from beyond the arc) in her preseason debut with Indianapolis, hauling in three rebounds and dishing out two assists. She also had two steals, but turned the ball over five times.
“My biggest goal coming into tonight was to continue to be myself, play aggressive,” Clark said, via the Associated Press. “I thought that’s what I did. I think there’s a lot to be proud of.”
“The crowd was great all night,” Clark added. “That’s what you expect with a sellout. Those are going to be the same for the crowds all year long. So whether they’re cheering for you or cheering against you, you’d better get used to it.”
Clark and the Fever kick their regular season off on May 14, when they head to the Mohegan Sun Arena to take on the Connecticut Sun.
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Much-Maligned Reporter No Longer Allowed to Cover Caitlin Clark, Fever Games