Photo: Darron Cummings/AP
On Wednesday, just two days after being drafted into the WNBA, Caitlin Clark held her first press conference as an Indiana Fever player. She gave her opening statement and answered questions about what she was most excited about joining the team, but less than four minutes into the conference, things got uncomfortable. It changed in that direction.
After being given a microphone to ask Clark questions. indianapolis star When sports columnist Greg Doyle made a heart shape with his hands at Clark, Clark asked, “Do you like that?” Doyle replied, “I'm glad you're here.” Clark responded, “It's pretty cool because we do that as a family after every game.'' Instead of moving on from the awkward moment, Doyle said: “Okay, well, just start doing that to me and we'll get along just fine.”
While those in the room appeared to laugh off the exchange, online sports journalists and fans also Not impressedcalls Doyle's action unprofessional, sexistand Spooky. For many, this episode is just the latest example of how women in sports are not treated with the same respect as men, regardless of their accomplishments. (Clark, college basketball's leading scorer, is paid a base salary of $76,535 in his first year in the WNBA, while the NBA's No. 1 draft pick earns a base salary of about $10.5 million in his first year.) expected).
The backlash against Doyle was so great that on Wednesday night he apologized in a column published in the newspaper. Star. “I am devastated to know that I am part of the problem,” he wrote. Ms Doyle said she was known locally for “having awkward conversations with people before asking cheeky conversational questions”. He said he regularly has such interactions with players and coaches on the men's team. Doyle said that his moments with Clark were “in a hurry to be smart, relatable, and welcoming (or so I thought).” He concluded:I mean, that's all it was mistaken. Caitlin Clark, I'm so sorry. ”
