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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndianapolis Star sports columnist Gregg Doyel said Friday he was “getting back to work” even as national attention continued to swirl around his widely criticized interaction with WNBA No. 1 draft pick Caitlin Clark earlier in the week.
During a Wednesday press conference at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Doyel used his first chance to pose a question to Clark—a two-time national collegiate player of the year and a new member of the Indiana Fever—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. Candace Buckner, a former IndyStar sports reporter who now works for The Washington Post, described the incident as “a highly unprofessional, inscrutably brain-dead moment” in a column published Friday.
Social media reactions were immediate, ubiquitous and highly critical of Doyel.
In person, 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, “OK, well, listen, start doing it to me and we’ll get along just fine.”
Many commenters labeled Doyel as sexist, and some described his actions as inappropriate flirtation.
In an IndyStar column published Wednesday night and accompanied by the headline “Caitlin Clark, I’m so sorry. On Wednesday I was part of the problem,” Doyel wrote: “In my haste to be clever, to be familiar and welcoming (or so I thought), I offended Caitlin and her family.”
Doyel, an IndyStar columnist since 2014, following stints at the Tampa Tribune, Miami Herald, Charlotte Observer and CBS Sports, wrote that he shouldn’t have addressed a young woman the same way he addresses young men.
When reached for comment on Friday, IndyStar Executive Editor Eric Larsen said the newspaper had no comment beyond Doyel’s published apology.
Attempts to reach Fever representatives on Friday were unsuccessful.
Although attempts to reach Doyel—who was named in 2023 to IBJ Media’s Indiana 250, which recognizes the most influential business and community leaders in the state—also were unsuccessful, he sent a message on Friday to a public text group facilitated by IndyStar:
“Hey folks. Really appreciate you. I’m seeing your notes, and reading them and smiling and maybe a little more emotion than that. Getting back to work today, Colts pre-draft press conference at noon with Chris Ballard, and will have that story later. That’s not why I’m here, now. I’m here to say thank you. Appreciate all of you.”
Media entities ranging from CNN to London’s Daily Mail to NBC’s “Today Show” reported on Doyel’s approach toward Clark and his apology.
In a column published by journalism-focused not-for-profit The Poynter Institute for Media Studies, senior media writer Tom Jones wrote, “Doyel badly bungled his introduction. He insulted Clark specifically and disrespected women in general. He has been publicly humiliated, and likely will have to wear this for a long time, if not the rest of his career.”
In Buckner’s Washington Post column, she criticized Doyel while also deeming part of the backlash as disingenuous and generated by readers who previously disagreed with his commentary supporting vaccinations, athletes who knelt during “The Star Spangled Banner” and the LBGTQ community.
“Judging from the bios of the triggered people screaming FIRE DOYEL on social media, his enemies have finally found an opening to punch back and punch harder,” Buckner wrote. “They could not care less about Clark and her feelings.”
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Doyle apologized and he obviously was incredibly stupid in his comment. His humiliation is punishment enough.
Let’s move on now and show Caitlin what a first class city we have!!
Agreed. Much ado about a nothing.
I’ve called to inquire about Fever tickets because I’m thrilled to have Clark on the team. In contrast, I cancelled my subscription to the Indianapolis Star a few years ago in protest to Doyel and his condescending style. I can’t even read his articles. His behavior is consistent with his writing.
Amen! There are other stories to tell and talk about. Doyle, get your lens back in focus, and let’s move on!
Great writer who made a mistake.
No one is perfect and he definitely made an error.
Still the best part of the media in Indy.
Haters need to accept his apology and move on.
I question the “great writer” part. He is a decent reporter with an overwrought writing style. More importantly, while I am all for accepting sincere contrition *combined* with changed behavior and a real effort to make amends, I believe people need to stop using the word “mistake” in this situation and in similar ones.
A mistake is forgetting your house keys or accidentally stepping on someone’s toe, what Doyle did was not a “mistake.” He is a grown man who intentionally humiliated a professional sports player because he thought he was being funny & wanted to make what should have been her moment about him instead.
Then, his “apology” column was a word salad of excuses that was about himself and not about what he did to someone else. He even started off saying “What happened was the most *me* thing ever, in one way.” Then, he wrote lines and lines about how he felt and how he appeared in the media spotlight, etc. If you did not know what happened, you might reasonably be confused and think *he* was the victim in the situation.
Bottom line, he knew better, and he should have done better and that is where his apology should have started, not this “I was blind, but now I see” nonsense. As a society, we seem to have forgot how to toughen up and take responsibility for our actions, admit we did wrong (not made a “mistake”), and commit to fixing the damage and doing better in the future. There would certainly be much less ongoing criticism of Doyle had he taken that approach instead of falling back on the tired old “I didn’t know better” excuse (he ultimately blamed “ignorance” for his behavior).
The rest of the country is finally figuring out what a poor beat writer we have covering Indiana sports. Woke, cat aficionado. Obviously socially awkward. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. About time.
I think that if you’re viewing Gregg Doyel as a beat writer, that says you’re a larger part of the problem.
Greg Doyel gives us a different slant on sports and related activities in this area. He is willing to speak his mind and take the push back that many of his articles generate in this conservative community. He made a mistake in judgement–haven’t we all. He has apologized and now it is time to move on.
It must be so frustrating that the “conservative community” of Indianapolis has lost something like 80% of its weekend Indy Star subscribers since even 2017. Greg Doyel reaches less than 100K readers because he talks down to people, among many other things and like most of the journalistic dross at the Star.
But it is fun watching the usual gaggle at IBJ defend him! His entire fanbase right here in these responses.
And now it is utterly delightful to see him getting hoisted by his own petard–strung up by the same woke garbage he tacitly promotes in this “conservative community” where his fellow wokies are far more likely to excommunicate him. Couldn’t happen to a more deserving person. May the Indy Star go the way of all the other Gannett garbage.
Let those without _ _ _ cast the first stone. Who hasn’t stuck their foot in their mouth in an effort to be clever? It’s up to Caitlin to write the rest of the story.
It’s not up to Caitlin to do anything since the story is about Doyle’s behavior, not hers.
And, can we stop treating a grown man like a little kid? He did not “stick his foot in his mouth.” He, a seasoned individual who is *paid* to interview people and who has built a career as a professional reporter, said something insulting and offensive that even an amateur with 1/10 of his experience would have had the common sense to refrain from saying.
And, yes, everyone at times, for various reasons, *chooses* to do things we *know* are wrong, and then as adults, we accept the consequences for these bad choices. Instead, Doyle wrote a “poor me” column claiming his “ignorance” was the reason he said what he said. What a little boy excuse! I could almost see him hiding behind Mommy’s skirt while typing his “apology.”
He would have been far better off being honest by saying he chose to do something obnoxious for attention and thought he could get away with it by playing it off as a “joke,” and now he is sorry no one else thought it was funny. Would that be a great apology? No. But, it would at least show some self-awareness.
While Doyle puts out some interesting articles that I often greatly enjoy reading, he wants to insert himself into the picture way to often such as he did this time. I as the reader am not interested in his personal life and hope in the future he learns this. I’m betting as controversial as he has become he is the main reason the Indy Star quit publishing reader comments. Thank goodness we have the IBJ in Indy!
Of course, the Indy Star has writers like Doyle. Of course, the Indy Star has no readers, I mean comment. I wish it would fold already and we can move on. Maybe after working for the Libs this election year, they will all find different employment,
I’m not a sports fan…never have been. But I read Doyel’s work much of the time. He’s a terrific writer; I sure don’t see the condescension mentioned; more often, he brings a tear to my eye or a smile to my lips. And the passion he brings for sports occasionally gets me to look up a few scores. Yes, he made a big mistake…who among us has not? IndyStar has many problems, but I continue to subscribe because we as a city must have a daily paper with a variety of voices; the interweb cannot do the same things. And despite the two day old news I still get a lot of value out of the Star…just like I do the IBJ. I personally thank Gregg Doyel for his insight, his personality (on paper; never met the guy or even heard him speak), and his passion.
Huge Black Eye for the Indy Star to keep this guy on board. He’s so negative, condescending, and his huge ego is a major turn off.
I have no idea why Doyel still even has a job, even before this. He writes to shock and offend (on sports related topics, I mean). Doesn’t fit with the intended Midwest readership at all. His insights are often juvenile and when I’ve heard him interviewed on the radio he is horribly ill informed on the topics he is supposed to be covering. Just an annoying dude and now the rest of the country gets to see it. Hopefully this is his push out the door.
Doyel is a bad person and works for a vile organization. That said on the Offensive! scale of 1-10, this is about a 3. It is hilarious to watch Libs eat their own. In the extremely unlikely event anything happens to Doyel, he can always get a job at the IBJ
Speaking of IBJ, a couple items they are burying: Mark Stoner and IPS Fight Club
No big deal; a Democrat judge that coddles cop killers and determined a meth head that smothered her infant to make her stop crying was not a criminal. If the IPS incident was anywhere else the Superintendent would have been fired by now. Instead the “journalists” are working to make it the cops’ fault
IBJ employees protecting their fellow Democrats at all costs.
The IBJ has developed a liberal bent – especially for a business publication – in the last 5 or so years.
They’re burying 2 of the 3 items you mentioned on the front page.
The audacity to hide things in plain sight!
“It is hilarious to watch Libs eat their own.”
Even more hilarious to see a political POV apparently completely unfamiliar with the concept of holding people — even those who share your beliefs — accountable.
Why is this appearing in a Business publication?
Because news is a business.
Doyel writes a few great articles but most of the time he is a condescending tool. Flip flops depending which way the wind blows. He was very wrong in what he said but he has apologized and let’s move on. It’s fun to watch the liberal media snack on one of their own.
“hold someone accountable”
I love when this is seen as a hysterical concept and a surprise that it is legal for those who do not believe in democracy
typical G. Doyel drivel…