Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Reporter's Cringey Interaction With Caitlin Clark Sparks Backlash—And His Apology Makes It Worse

Gregg Doyel; Caitlin Clark
IndyStar/YouTube; @ClutchPoints/X

Indianapolis Star columnist Gregg Doyel apologizes on social media and later in a column for an awkward interaction with the no. 1 draft pick at her first WNBA press conference—but his apology also veered into sexist territory.

Indianapolis Star reporter Gregg Doyel is under fire after an interaction with number-one WNBA draft pick Caitlin Clark at her first press conference after joining the Indianapolis Fever, and a subsequent apology that many feel only made it worse.

Doyel began his questioning of Clark by making a heart gesture with his hands, which has become something of a signature greeting of Clark's during NCAA games with the University of Iowa.


But he quickly took it to a flirtatious place that many found awkward at best, sexist at worst.

After Doyel made the gesture, Clark explained that she does the heart hands "with my family after every game."

To which Doyel flirtatiously replied:

“Start doing it to me and we’ll get along just fine."

The long-standing tropes that this quip rests in—that men will treat women "just fine" so long as they give them some kind of vaguely sexual gratification—didn't play well with many online, since they're basically the definition of sexual harassment.

For her part, Clark seemed sort of uncomfortably mystified by the comment, perhaps marveling at Doyel's audacity. And the joke definitely did not land well with many who viewed it.

Many felt it was yet another example of how male athletes are regarded with a seriousness female athletes are often denied.

Amid the backlash, Doyel hastily took to X, aka Twitter, to apologize.

Doyel wrote:

"Today in my uniquely oafish way, while welcoming @CaitlinClark22 to Indy, I formed my hands into her signature 🫶."
"My comment afterward was clumsy and awkward. I sincerely apologize."
"Please know my heart (literally and figuratively) was well-intentioned. I will do better."

Doyel elaborated on his apology in his column days later, and many felt it only made things worse.

"What happened was the most me thing ever, in one way. I’m sort of known locally, sigh, for having awkward conversations with people before asking brashly conversational questions."
"I’ve done this for years with Colts coaches Chuck Pagano, Frank Reich and Shane Steichen. I’ve done it with Purdue players Carsen Edwards and Zach Edey. I did it with IU’s Romeo Langford, talking to them as people, not athletes."
"Notice something about all those names?"
"They’re all men."

Doyel's mea culpa generated even more angry backlash.








There is more context to that passage, however.

Doyel went on to explain that he spoke about the gaffe with several people in his life, who explained that the same words and approach land differently when delivered to a woman.

It allowed him to understand that his interaction with Clark crossed a line and was "wrong, wrong, wrong."

He closed by addressing Clark directly, saying "Caitlin Clark, I’m so sorry." Here's hoping he means it.

More from Entertainment/celebrities

Signal app logo; J.D. Vance
Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Signal's Founder Epically Roasts Vance Over The Disastrous Group Chat Debacle

Signal founder Matthew Rosenfeld, better known by the pseudonym Moxie Marlinspike, mocked Vice President J.D. Vance after the app found itself at the center of the Trump administration's group text scandal.

Rosenfeld's post came amid revelations that Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was invited into a Signal chat with high-level Trump administration officials, particularly Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, discussing military strategy surrounding war strikes in Yemen.

Keep ReadingShow less
MTG, Martha Kelner
C-SPAN

MTG Blasted For Her Unhinged Reaction To A UK Reporter Asking Her A Question

Far right Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was bashed for viciously shutting down a British reporter who had a question about the Signal group chat scandal, AKA "Signalgate."

Republican President Donald Trump's administration continues to downplay concerns after The Atlantic'seditor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was mistakenly added to the Signal messaging app's group chat in which U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shared with top intelligence officials the specific weapons programs regarding the U.S. war strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Rachel Maddow
MSNBC

Rachel Maddow Gives Trump A Blistering Reality Check After His 'Perfect' Presidency Claims

MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow criticized President Donald Trump after he claimed "we've had two perfect months" to start out his presidency—conveniently downplaying "Signalgate" and ignoring all the scandals that have thus far struck his administration.

You can see his comments to reporters in the video below:

Keep ReadingShow less
train crossing in small town
craig kerwien on Unsplash

People Share Their Most Embarrassing Small Town Stories

I lived most of my life in a very small town in Northern Maine. There were about 200 kids in my high school and there were 56 kids in my graduating class—we were tied with the class of 1961 for the largest class ever.

When the primary employer in town—Pinkham Lumber Mill—shut down, the town got even smaller. Now the senior class is considered large if it reaches double digits.

Keep ReadingShow less
A post-it with "I Quit" written on it over a computer keypad
a yellow notepad on a keyboard
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

People Reveal Why They Quit Their Job On The First Day

As much as anyone may want to quit a job, at the end of the day it's easier said than done.

For one thing, even if people are working soul-sucking jobs that barely cover expenses, they still can't afford to lose the paycheck, until something better comes along.

Keep ReadingShow less