Columnist apologizes to Caitlin Clark for embarrassing heartfelt gesture

An Indianapolis sports columnist apologized for flashing the heart symbol with his hands, as well as for his subsequent comments, to new Indiana Fever player and college basketball star Caitlin Clark in what soon became “embarrassed” interaction.

Indianapolis Star columnist Greg Doyle at Clark's introductory press conference with the WNBA team flashed a heart emoji while speaking to her, to which Clark responded: “Do you like that?” “I like having you here,” Doyle replied.

“I do it in my family after every game, so, it's cool,” said Clark, who broke the NCAA scoring record for both women's and men's as an Iowa Hawkeye and was the No. 1 pick in Monday's WNBA draft.

“Okay, okay, start doing it with me and we'll get along just fine,” Doyle replied, before asking a question about Clark's decision to turn professional and enter the draft.

Doyle apologized in an online column on Wednesday night.

“I was shocked when I realized I was part of the problem,” he wrote.

Doyle said he was known for having awkward conversations with people before asking “impulsive conversational questions.” He did this for years with Indianapolis Colts coaches, as well as players at Purdue University and Indiana University, Doyle wrote.

He described himself as “another insensitive guy” and said he insulted Clarke and her family when he was trying to be “clever” and “welcoming”.

“Having gone through denial and then anger, am I on the wrong side of this? Am I??? – I now realize what I said and how I said it was wrong, wrong, wrong. I mean it was wrong,” Caitlin Clark wrote. I am very sorry.”

NBC News could not immediately reach Clark or her representatives for comment late Wednesday night.

Last season at the University of Iowa, Clark, 22, broke the women's NCAA scoring record in February, then broke the men's record a month later. She finished with 3,951 career points.

With Clark playing, the women's NCAA tournament game between the Hawkeyes and South Carolina Gamecocks attracted more viewers than the men's tournament game for the first time.

Iowa State lost to South Carolina for the title, but Clark was chosen by Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley to elevate women's basketball.

Since then, Clark has made numerous high-profile media appearances, including on “TODAY” and “Saturday Night Live.” In another sign of fan enthusiasm for her, Clark's Indiana Fever jersey became the best-selling jersey of all time as a draft pick.