Caitlin Clark speaks during her introductory press conference in Indianapolis last month.
By Dave Lindquist
Indianapolis Business Journal
Indianapolis Star sports columnist Gregg Doyel “will not be covering the Indiana Fever,” the newspaper said in a statement Tuesday, nearly three weeks after Doyel used a press conference to greet the team’s No. 1 draft pick, Caitlin Clark, with a “heart” hand gesture and verbal banter that were widely criticized.
Bob Kravitz, who’s written about sports in Indianapolis for IndyStar and The Athletic, reported on Tuesday that Doyel is serving a two-week suspension because of his actions. Kravitz cited unnamed sources when writing about the suspension in his subscription email newsletter, Musings of an Old Sportswriter.
A spokesperson for Gannett, IndyStar’s parent company, said the company does not comment on personnel matters or personnel actions. The spokesperson, Lark-Marie Anton, said Doyel will not be covering the Fever.
Kravitz reported that his sources indicated that Doyel will write about the Fever by watching televised games but he will not attend any of the WNBA team’s games this summer at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
On April 19, IndyStar Executive Editor Eric Larsen said the newspaper had no comment beyond an apology column written by Doyel.
No columns by Doyel have been published by IndyStar since April 29. He sent the following message that day to a public text group facilitated by the newspaper:
“Programming note: I’m leaving tomorrow to visit my mom in South Carolina, my dad in Florida and then my son in Colombia (South America!!). Brutal time to be off, but plans were made and family is family. See you on the other side.”
When contacted Tuesday by the IBJ, Doyel declined to comment on his employer’s disciplinary measures.
Doyel used his first chance to pose a question to Clark — a two-time national collegiate player of the year — to pause and form a “heart” sign with his hands in a gesture toward the basketball star and a reference to the heart hand sign she frequently directs to her family after games. It was the start of a brief exchange that Doyel later addressed with an apology in a published column.
Doyel wrote that it was “creepy” to welcome Clark to Indianapolis in this manner.
Clark responded to Doyel’s hand heart by saying, “You like that?”
“I like that you’re here. I like that you’re here,” Doyel said.
Clark then talked about her personal use of the hand heart: “I do that at my family after every game. So … it’s pretty cool.”
Doyel wrapped up the exchange by saying, “Okay, well, listen, start doing it to me and we’ll get along just fine.”
The Fever’s regular season begins May 14 with a road matchup against the Connecticut Sun.
The NBA’s Indiana Pacers, a team Doyel routinely covers, trail the New York Knicks 1-0 in an Eastern Conference semifinal series going into Wednesday’s Game 2 at Madison Square Garden.
