Gregg Doyel, a longtime sportswriter with the Indy Star, has been suspended for two weeks and will not cover any Indiana Fever games this season after his press conference incident with Caitlin Clark, according to a report from Bob Kravitz.
Kravitz, a former writer at the Indy Star himself, broke the news on his Substack on Tuesday. Doyel has not published a column since April 29, despite the Pacers being in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Doyel would not comment on the incident or related suspension when reached by Kravitz for comment. He is expected to return to work on Monday, May 13.
Doyel’s discipline stems from Clark’s introductory press conference with the Fever on April 17. During the press conference, he began a question by giving Clark her patented heart gesture. When Clark asked if Doyel liked her well-known hand signal, Doyel replied with “Start doing it with me and we’ll get along just fine,” which led to an uncomfortable look by Clark.
Doyel was widely criticized in the media for his strange encounter with Clark, so it should come as no surprise that he has been disciplined for his antics.
Over the last two years, the friendly rivalry between Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese has elevated two gamesâwomen's college basketball and the WNBAâto never-before-seen heights.
Like all truly great sports rivalries, however, Clark and Reese's rivalry is built on mutual respect. On Saturday morning, Clark demonstrated that by praising both Reese and Sky center Kamilla Cardoso before the Fever played Chicago in the afternoon.
"The thing about (Reese), she's been so dominant at what she does ever since we played in high school," Clark said via Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. "She's always had a knack for being able to rebound the ball and that's just translated immediately to the WNBA."
Reese entered Saturday averaging 8.2 rebounds per game, ninth in the WNBA.
"Kamilla caused us a lot of problems in the national championship," Clark said of Cardoso. "Kamilla is just scratching the surface of her potential... it's been a lot of fun to watch those two kind of evolve over their college careers."
Each of the trio had a role to play in Indiana's eventual 71â70 win. Clark scored 11 points, pulled down eight rebounds and gave out eight assists; Reese scored eight points and pulled down 13 rebounds; Cardoso scored 11 points and had six rebounds.
Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark's omission from the Team USA basketball roster for the 2024 summer Olympics in Paris left fans outraged and many questioning the reason why she was snubbed.
According to a report from Christine Brennan of USA TODAY, there were concerns within Team USA of how Clark's millions of fans would "react to what would likely be limited playing time on a stacked roster."
The Team USA roster is loaded without a doubt, but Clark's presence, even on the end of the bench, would certainly drive marketing around the premier worldwide sporting event,
Instead, Clark will be at home this summer, enjoying a mid-season Olympic break from the WNBA to rest up and root for the players who did make the roster.
Clark tied a career-high with 30 points in Friday night's victory over the win-less Washington Mystics. In her first WNBA season, she is averaging 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists on 37.3% shooting from the floor.
The Fever take the court again on Monday against the Connecticut Sun, looking to capture their fourth win of the season.
Mainstream menâs sports punditry has discovered the WNBA, and I wish it hadnât.
Popular programs like First Take and The Pat McAfee Show are typically preoccupied with the goings on in the NFL and NBA but have recently dedicated increased airtime to womenâs basketball. This type of universal coverage, and the exposure it generates, is what womenâs sports supporters and insiders have hoped for for decades. But now, itâs here, and it feels less like validation, and more like an affliction.
The heightened interest in womenâs basketball centers around the cultural phenomenon of Catilin Clark. Her collegiate career at Iowa is nothing short of groundbreaking, and her generational talent rightfully earned her a boatload of loyal fans. Clarkâs transition to the WNBA has been watched breathlessly, bringing an unprecedented level of attention to the league, buoying viewership, ticket sales and investment. With the Clark hype has come a flood of media scrutiny typically reserved for menâs sports leagues. The devolving discourseâwhich reached a fever pitch this week after the Chicago Skyâs Chennedy Carter committed a Flagrant 1 foul on Clark last Saturdayâhas exposed how unequipped a mainstream sports media dominated by men is for this moment.
"Who talks about the WNBA, who talks about women, who talks about women's sports more than First Take?" Stephen A. Smith asked Monica McNutt at the end of a 40-minute segment addressing the Carter foul on Clark on Mondayâs show. "Stephen A., respectfully, with your platform, you could have been doing this three years ago if you wanted to,â McNutt responded, leaving Smith incredulous.
Directing that question at McNutt, an accomplished former collegiate basketball player herself and established broadcaster, is laughable. Smithâs stance that First Take bestowed McNutt, and the WNBA, with a platform they ought to be grateful for echoes the prevailing sentiment that the leagueâs players owe Clark a debt of gratitude. Itâs patriarchal and condescending and fails to acknowledge the work of generations that has poured into the WNBA. McNutt later expanded on the exchange, saying, "I think what I was frustrated by in our conversation earlier is that we can hold more than one truth, y'all. The idea of some players being jealous, yes, that probably exists. But I think since Caitlin's made her debut, there's been a large and loud push that it's been Caitlin vs. the W."
The swirling commentary about Clarkâs unfair treatment at the hands of WNBA veterans does the 22-year-old rookie a disservice too, evidenced by Pat McAfeeâs bizarre defense (?) of the Fever star on Mondayâs episode of his show. "I would like the media people that continue to say, 'This rookie class, this rookie class, this rookie class'. Nah, just call it for what it is â there's one white b---- for the Indiana team who is a superstar," McAfee said, in an attempt to praise Clark. He later apologized for his remarks.
First, letâs get the obvious point out of the way: Itâs best not to refer to a professional athlete who one purports to revere in such derogatory terms. Second, the impulse to protect Clark is paternalistic and undermines her prowess as a physical and unrelenting competitor. Clark isnât a meek person in need of shielding, nor is she a shrinking violet, leading the league in technical fouls (three). The racial overtones are hard to ignore too. Sky rookie Angel Reeseâwho has 3.3 million Instagram followers and can also be credited with the recent rise in popularity of womenâs basketballâwas pulled down by the Connecticut Sunâs Alyssa Thomas, who was ejected from the May 25 game due to the Flagrant 2 foul. There hasnât been wall-to-wall coverage of that incident, nor has it inspired the same media firestorm that Carterâs hip check on Clark did.
The inclination to highlight the foul(s) on Clark alone exhibits an unfamiliarity with the WNBA. Itâs a physical league, and things get chippy, just like in any other professional sport. Unlike other leagues, however, the WNBA boasts very few roster spots, meaning on any given night the most elite basketball players in the world are on the floor battling it out in highly competitive matchups. While ânot appropriate,â as Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon categorized Carterâs foul on Clark, it is also not remarkable, nor is it a new occurrence.
Putting a spotlight on something the way many sports media personnel have with the WNBA, isnât the same as illuminating it. What is coverage without curiosity? What is narrative without knowledge? What is an argument without good faith? All press is not in fact good press when, to McNuttâs point, Napheesa Collierâs standout season, Arike Ogunbowaleâs 40-point game and Aâja Wilsonâs MVP campaign are failing to break through. Itâs starting to feel like menâs sports commentatorsâ newfound interest, or at least newly articulated interest, in womenâs basketball, is being wielded as a cudgel, punishing any player, reporter or fan who isnât just grateful to be here.
The WNBA is a 28-year-old league with a rich history despite its young age. It has a lore that includes rivalries, dynasties, beefs and ballers. It has a cultureâfrom its players to its fansâthat is uniquely women-led, queer and Black. The W is unlike any other sports league in the U.S., and itâs better for its singularity. The current commentary is not only shortchanging the playersârookies and vets alikeâbut it is also willfully ignorant about the WNBAâs mores, taking a vibrant league and coating it with dull commentary. The WNBA deserves better than what the current landscape of talking heads has to offer.