Veteran sports columnist Greg Doyle is back after a two-week suspension from the Indianapolis Star over an awkward exchange with Caitlin Clark.
In addition to missing two weeks, Doyle is also prohibited from directly covering Clark’s games with the Fever during his rookie season, according to Indianapolis sportswriter Bob Kravitz.
After Clark and the Fever struggled early in Tuesday’s first game of the WNBA regular season against the Connecticut Sun, Doyle appealed for patience with the situation.
“This is a journey, and it’s going to be amazing, right?” dare Tuesday night, temper your enthusiasm for the Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark, or the most anticipated WNBA season in history, both locally and far. ” Doel wrote.
“That’s all true, by the way. Let’s make a deal, okay? No such prisoner nonsense from me, and neither will you.
“Our agreement and this journey will be one of fact, and it starts with the first sentence of this story. This is the most anticipated WNBA season in history. Ticket sales are proof of that. The same goes for the national TV show, which will have record TV ratings, and we’ll see that soon, too, with Caitlin Clark. These are facts that haven’t been written yet, but they’re coming, so get your pens ready.
Doyle did not quote anything from Tuesday night’s postgame press conference, instead citing earlier statements in the article that Fever head coach Christy Sides reportedly “spoke to local reporters” during the preseason. .
Neither Doyle nor Starr said anything on the record about being suspended or directly expelled.
Doyle declined to comment to the Post on Wednesday.
The idea that newspaper sports columnists should meet local teams in person and write strong opinions is partly based on what they can observe with their own eyes and ears in the arena, but perhaps more importantly, they can be held accountable. They exist to serve and physically support anything negative they may have written.
At Clark’s inaugural press conference in April, Doyle made the heart gesture Clark often made to his family in the stands at games when he played college basketball at the University of Iowa.
“Do you like it?” Clark answered.
“I like you here, I like you here,” Doel replied.
When Clark said he had done the gesture for his family, Doyle replied, “If you start doing that to me, we’ll make it work.”
Doyle left CBS Sports Digital in 2014 to join the Stars.
