Welcome to Indianapolis, Caitlin Clark! Here’s a weird reporter that will ask you cringey questions while you are here.
Social media is letting one reporter by the name of Gregg Doyel have it after he had a strange interaction with the Indiana Fever’s number one draft pick during her welcoming press conference.
Clark has seemingly been on a nonstop media tour since Iowa’s season ended with a loss in the national championship game. And things move fast for women’s sports, because she’s already been drafted into the WNBA. Of course, Caitlin is no stranger to time with the media, though she might have experienced her most cringeworthy interaction only days into her professional career.
Indianapolis reporter Gregg Doyel (no that’s not a typo, both of his names are actually spelled like that) stepped up to ask the basketball star a question, and opened up his time with a strange message:
“Real quick. Let me do this.”
Doyel then proceeded to make a heart with his hands put together, a gesture that Clark did many times during her playing days at Iowa. Caitlin handled it well, smiling and asking if he’s a fan of the heart sign.
Doyel creepily responded:
“I like that you’re here. I like that you’re here.”
Very awkward.
Clark tried to break up the nervous laughter in the room by responding with:
“Yeah. I do that at my family after every game. So, it’s pretty cool.”
Textbook answer, and great job of deflecting by Clark. It’s as if she’s already a veteran in the league, at least with how she handles the media. But ol’ Gregg Doyel doubled down and cranked the cringe up to MAX when he fired back:
“Okay, well, let’s start doing it to me and we’ll get along just fine.”
Again, there was a lot of laughter in the room, and though all of that was probably supposed to come off as goofy and heartfelt, it instead came off as creepy and cringeworthy.
Caitlin Clark fans, as well as other people who just stopped to watch the now viral clip, were quick to condemn the Indiana reporter, with some even calling for the man’s job:
What a weirdo
Be professional you’re there to do your job
— ³⁴ (@GiannisWorld) April 17, 2024
After his meeting with HR tomorrow at corporate headquarters pic.twitter.com/1nVscZsXQK
— AC Tatum (@actatumonline) April 17, 2024
What an insanely inappropriate and creepy thing to say to a young girl new to the city. Dude should not be allowed back
— Esta☀️ (@knyesta) April 17, 2024
Reporter should be fired
— Naz Reid Enthusiast. (@NazReidMVP) April 17, 2024
I don’t think I’ve ever used the word “cringe” before. But this was definitely cringy lol. Wild
— Eric Crocker 🥷🏾 (@Crocky209) April 17, 2024
