Issuing an apology to Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark wasn’t enough for longtime sports columnist Gregg Doyel.
On Wednesday, Indianapolis Star reporter Gregg Doyel was criticized for a “creepy” exchange he had with the Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark during a press conference.
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Here’s the exchange as previously reported:
“Doyel attempted to connect with Clark by mimicking her signature hand signal — a heart shape she routinely makes to her family during games. His gesture, however, did not land as intended. “Hi Caitlin, Gregg Doyel Indy Star,” he began, forming the hand signal.
“You like that?” Clark responded.
“I like that you’re here,” Doyel replied.
“I do it to my family after every game…pretty cool,” Clark said, trying to steer the conversation back to a more comfortable place.
“Do it to me and we’ll get along just fine,” Doyel added, a comment that caused visible discomfort in the room, evident from the uneasy laughter that followed.”
Doyel was criticized by many including Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy who labeled Doyel “a pervert.”
Doyel issued an apology to Clark on X for the awkward interaction.
“Today in my uniquely oafish way, while welcoming @CaitlinClark22 to Indy, I formed my hands into her signature. y comment afterward was clumsy and awkward. I sincerely apologize. Please know my heart (literally and figuratively) was well-intentioned. I will do better.”
While the apology was not well-received, Doyel should have probably left it at that and hoped this whole thing would blow over in a week or so.
But that may not be the case now after Doyel decided to write an “apology” column to Clark.
Social media users were quick to pick up that Doyel was trying to take advantage of this situation by “getting clicks.”
Of course, everybody who publishes content, including TMSPN, is hoping to get clicks to their website, and there is no issue with that.
However, many people seemed to have an issue with the fact that Doyel was trying to “get clicks” through a controversial situation that he himself created.
It seemed like an ill-advised attempt to profit off a situation that he claimed to be apologetic for.
Doyel would be best served to leave it alone at this point as he has already issued his apology.
