Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn't over
Share
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball's highest scorer Caitlin Clark's first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
The Wednesday exchange went viral on social media, and critics said it underscored the difficulties many female athletes have in gaining respect and equal treatment from sports journalists, who are frequently male.
The discussion began with Gregg Doyel, a columnist for the Indianapolis Star newspaper, making a heart with his hands to Clark, a gesture Clark often used during her college basketball career.
Clark responded, "You like that?" Doyel replied, "I like that you’re here," and Clark explained, "Yeah, I do that at my family after every game." Then Doyel added, "Start doing it to me and we’ll get along just fine."
Doyel apologized later that same day.
"Today in my uniquely oafish way, while welcoming @CaitlinClark22 to Indy, I formed my hands into her signature [heart hands emoji]," he wrote in a post on X shortly after the incident. "My comment afterward was clumsy and awkward. I sincerely apologize."
In a separate post on X, he added: "Caitlin Clark, I’m so sorry. Today I was part of the problem," the title of his apology column that published Wednesday.
Even though Doyel posted his apologies to the social media platform, and in his own column, for the sexist remarks he made to the basketball phenom, the discussion he provoked about misogyny in sports hasn’t come to a close.
Doyel’s back and forth with Clark was almost universally panned online. Media figures from Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic and NBC to Dave Portnoy (whose own Barstool Sports has been accused of upholding a sexist culture) slammed Doyel after the clip spread across the internet.
Meanwhile, the Indy Star writer went so far as to use the stages of grief to illustrate how he arrived at his moment of clarity.
"After going through denial, and then anger — I’m on the wrong side of this? Me??? — I now realize what I said and how I said it was wrong, wrong, wrong. I mean it was just wrong," he wrote in his column. "Caitlin Clark, I’m so sorry."
But users on X accused him of using the incident as a way to produce content and of missing the point of the offending behavior.
The controversy also comes as conversations about how WNBA players are compensated heat up and as the power of women in entertainment and sports reaches unprecedented heights.
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won't run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
In a first-of-its-kind case, a B.C. tribunal has ruled on a dispute involving the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, awarding damages and issuing orders that the photos be destroyed and taken offline.
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
As protestors set up tent encampments at universities across Canada and the U.S.in support of Palestine, London, Ont.’s Western University finds itself no exception on Wednesday.
Dozens of London Drugs stores in Western Canada remained closed for the fourth straight day following a "cybersecurity incident," but some services returned Wednesday.
Defence lawyers told court they will argue alleged serial killer Jeremy Skibicki is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women by way of a mental disorder.
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.
A section of a highway collapsed after heavy rains in southern China, sending cars tumbling down a slope and leaving at least 36 people dead, authorities said Thursday.
Administrators and campus police at UCLA faced intense criticism Wednesday for failing to act quickly to stop an attack on a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus by counter-demonstrators who threw traffic cones and chairs, released pepper spray and tore down barriers.
Police shot and killed a Wisconsin student outside a middle school after receiving a report of someone with a weapon while class was in session Wednesday.
The Arizona legislature approved a repeal of a long-dormant ban on nearly all abortions Wednesday, sending the bill to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, who is expected to sign it.
Prosecutors asked for a September retrial for Harvey Weinstein during a hearing Wednesday in Manhattan, the disgraced movie mogul's first court appearance since his 2020 rape conviction was overturned by an appeals court last week.
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party will support the federal budget, ending any speculation that the party could pull out of its deal with the minority Liberal government.
Citizens' Services Minister Terry Beech says 1,200 seniors have already visited a dentist and had their claims processed by the federal government's new dental care plan.
The number of young people experiencing eating disorders surged during the height of the pandemic as the social and economic costs skyrocketed too, a new pan-Canadian report has found.
The highly contagious norovirus is spreading across Canada, with some symptoms overlapping with other viruses. CTVNews.ca spoke with a health expert to find out how you can tell you have norovirus, the most common form of stomach flu, and what to do if you have it.
Nathaly Paola Castro Torres has a rare disorder called Laron syndrome that is caused by a genetic mutation. It stunts her growth but also provides a hidden silver lining: Her body is protected from chronic diseases such as cancer that often take life away long before old age.
In a first-of-its-kind case, a B.C. tribunal has ruled on a dispute involving the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, awarding damages and issuing orders that the photos be destroyed and taken offline.
A wealthy Silicon Valley-backed campaign to build a green city for up to 400,000 people in the San Francisco Bay Area has submitted what it says are enough signatures to qualify the initiative for the November election.
Pop superstar Dua Lipa is preparing to pull double duty as this week's 'Saturday Night Live' host and musical guest, with a little help from cast member Chloe Fineman.
The career of the Godfather of Canadian Hip-Hop, aka Maestro Fresh Wes, is getting its close-up in a new exhibition that opens May 15 at the National Music Centre.
Melissa McCarthy was completely unbothered by a comment Barbra Streisand left on her Instagram in which the legendary singer asked the Oscar-nominated actress if she was on Ozempic. In fact, she took it as a compliment.
Employees at Canada's two biggest railways have authorized a strike that could see thousands of workers walk off the job in three weeks if they are unable to reach new deals on contract demands.
Plans to use a renovated cruise ship to house more than 600 workers as they build a liquefied natural gas facility near Squamish, B.C., have been voted down by the local council.
A month after eight Norwegian Cruise Line passengers were stranded in Africa when their ship left without them because they were late getting back, a U.S. couple – ages 84 and 81 – were also left behind by the cruise line in Spain.
The City of Toronto is lowering adoption fees until Sunday to find homes for a number of dogs with “ridiculous, bizarre and terrible names” living in the North York crowded shelter.
Drivers in Saskatchewan will now lose their licence for a week and their vehicle for a month if they are caught committing certain high-speed and dangerous offences on the road.
Rolls-Royce is vastly expanding its factory in Chichester, England. The BMW subsidiary is adding five new buildings with construction planned to start next year.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
As of May 1, the new federally-run Canadian Dental Care Plan provides coverage for nearly two million low-income seniors. But finding a provider in B.C. could be tough.
The taps have been turned on for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion – a national infrastructure project that overcame fierce public opposition, construction delays and cost-overruns that pushed the final bill to more than $34 billion.
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
High River RCMP are calling for increased highway awareness after an officer conducting a traffic stop on Highway 2 narrowly escaped being struck by a truck.
A day after Calgary's mayor called the Alberta government's decision to pull its funding for the low-income transit pass program "cruel," the province is reversing its decision.
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Two Ottawa non-profits, both serving the autism community, have suddenly closed their doors within the past week, leaving parents with fewer supports in the city.
Canadian Airbus A220 jet assembly workers approved a five-year contract with more than three-quarters of votes in favor, their union said late on Wednesday, ending fears of a lockout at the planemaker's Montreal-area plant.
At this time last year, e-scooters had been patrolling Edmonton streets for almost a month. This year, they have yet to make their debut -- and likely won't until the end of this month at the earliest.
For the next month, thousands of shoppers from across the country plan to get their groceries anywhere other than Loblaws-owned stores. The move is an attempt to get the box chain to lower its prices, as frustration grows over the high price of food.
A motion before Winnipeg’s public works committee could make it easier for shoppers who stocked up on bulk packs of toilet paper and chicken breast to exit one of the city’s bustling Costco locations.
More than a dozen people are facing charges, the majority Winnipeggers, after an interprovincial drug bust that turned up millions of dollars in cash, drugs, guns, jewelry and luxury vehicles.
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.
Saskatchewan employers will be required to tell new hires if they face a risk of violence in the workplace and to take actions against it starting on May 17.
French River officials say they’re hopeful things will start to improve now and that they’ve turned a corner from the high water levels on Lake Nipissing, the French River and other waterways going through their municipality.
Residents who live in the Hyde Park Place apartments in north London, Ont. said they are heartbroken after Old Oak Properties removed two geese nests, containing more than half a dozen eggs.
As protestors set up tent encampments at universities across Canada and the U.S.in support of Palestine, London, Ont.’s Western University finds itself no exception on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, councillors with the Municipality of South Bruce voted on a nuclear waste hosting agreement that could change the course of their community forever.
The man who police say killed Katherine Janeiro and left her body for friends to find, Robert MacQueen aka Bruce Ellis will stand trial for her murder.
An overseas manufacturer said it has developed electric vehicle batteries which can be charged in as much time as it takes to grab a coffee from Tim Horton's — and similar batteries are expected to be made by a Windsor-based EV research group sometime this year.
If you like engine revving, loud music and squealing tires, you could be landing yourself a ticket. That’s the message Wednesday from the Windsor Police Service as it launches the 2024 Anti-Noise Campaign.
A pro-Palestinian protest camp has formed at the University of Victoria in solidarity with the people of Gaza and with similar encampments that have sprung up on university and college campuses in opposition to the Israel-Hamas war.
Shauna Owens-Krahn lives on Bear Mountain in Langford. Four times a day she takes her dogs for walks through the trails near her home and carries bear spray, just in case.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Search and rescue crews have been called in after a vehicle belonging to a missing senior was located near a rural intersection outside of Kelowna Tuesday.
A Transportation Safety Board report says experience, recent training and safety equipment were key factors in a pilot surviving the crash of a firefighting plane south of Cranbrook in August 2022.
Richard Martin is spending this year's fishing season on land after he says a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer broke his left leg in three places during a protest last month that shut down the provincial legislature.
Legendary sportscaster Bob Cole was a Newfoundlander through and through, and his daughter says his connection to the province was 'everything' to him.