BREAKING: Reporter Banned Over Caitlin Clark Incident Gets Into Altercation With Pacers Star
Indianapolis Star columnist Gregg Doyel is developing quite the reputation.
The polarizing sports reporter was banned from covering the Indiana Fever for over a year because of a painfully awkward interaction he had with WNBA star Caitlin Clark.
During her first press conference as a pro after being drafted No. 1 overall last April, Doyel introduced himself to Clark by emulating the heart-shaped hand gesture she made famous during her time in college with the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Taken by surprise, Clark asked Doyel if he was a fan of her patented gesture, which she disclosed she does for her family after every game. Doyel responded with one of the cringiest replies from a beat reporter in recent memory.
“Start doing it with me and we'll get along just fine,” Doyel stated.
Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) celebrates during the second half of Game 5 against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs.
Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
His comments earned him a two-week suspension from the Indy Star, and he didn’t cover any Fever games in 2024. Doyel’s ban was presumably lifted with the new WNBA league year as he resumed his coverage of the team during its preseason tilt with the Washington Mystics.
It seems like Doyel didn’t learn from his mistakes following his run-in with Clark, as evidenced by the dispute he had with Indiana Pacers star Pascal Siakam following the team’s 111-94 Game 5 loss to the New York Knicks on Thursday.
During Indiana’s postgame press conference, Doyel asked Siakam how it was possible to not play hard enough in Game 5 of conference final with a chance to close out the series and advance to the NBA Finals — a question that Siakam seemed to take personally.
Pascal Siakam went back and forth with a reporter after Siakam said he believed the Knicks played harder than the Pacers in Game 5
"It's okay. We played hard, they played harder. What's your point, I don't get it? You good bro? You're looking for something I know, but damn" pic.twitter.com/65lwlzgas7
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 30, 2025
“What are you talking about?” he asked. “They played harder than us. We played hard, but they played harder. What’s your point? I don’t get it.”
Doyel pushed the issue a bit further, seemingly implying there was no excuse for the Pacers to be outplayed in Game 5 of the playoffs.
“You good? You good, bro?” Siakam replied. “You looking for something, I know, but [expletive]. I told you [we just got outplayed], I don’t know what else you want me to tell you. ... Who is this guy? What's your name, bro?"
Doyel eventually let it go despite not getting the response he was clearly looking for, and he was trending on social media Thursday night and Friday morning for having yet another uncomfortable exchange with an Indiana pro sports star.