A cringey encounter last month between No. 1 WNBA draft pick (and now Indiana Fever player) Caitlin Clark and a reporter from the Indianapolis Star has now led to that reporter being banned from covering the Fever's games or other team events in person. "Indianapolis Star sports columnist Gregg Doyel will not be covering the Indiana Fever," a newspaper rep said in a curt email to the Washington Post. No further details were offered, though a source tells the Post that it appears Doyel will still be able to write about the team, just from home.
The ban comes on the heels of a Tuesday report that Doyel, described by Yahoo Sports as "a prominent member of Indianapolis sports media," had received an unpaid two-week suspension. That report, by former Star reporter Bob Kravitz, noted that Doyel hasn't written a word since an April 29 column, in which he noted, "I'm devastated to realize I'm part of the problem. ... Caitlin Clark, I'm so sorry." Doyel also apologized to Clark on social media over the encounter, calling his comments "clumsy and awkward." Kravitz says that Doyel is set to return to the Star on May 13, per People. (More Caitlin Clark stories.)