Dave Portnoy joins furious backlash after 'sexist pervert' embarrassed Caitlin Clark at her first press conference with inuendo over her heart gesture

Barstool Sports boss Dave Portnoy has branded a journalist as a 'sexist pervert' and is demanding his employer take action after his awkward exchange with basketball star Caitlin Clark.

Clark faced the media on Wednesday after being selected by the Indiana Fever with the first overall pick in the WNBA Draft. 

During the press briefing, Indy Star Sports reporter Gregg Doyel imitated the former Iowa star's heart-hands gesture before saying: 'Start doing it to me and we'll get along just fine.

Following the incident, Portnoy took to X and urged the publication to address Doyel's 'nauseating' behavior. 

'Caitlin Clark's Indiana Fever Career Begins With Gregg Doyel Being A sexiest pervert at Introductory Press Conference,' Portnoy wrote. '@IndyStarSports do something about this pervert.'

'To clarify I meant to call Gregg Doyle a sexist pervert. Which he is based on his nauseating actions today,' Portnoy added later. 

The Fever star endured an awkward exchange with Doyel after he imitated the celebratory heart-hands gesture Clark gives to her family after every game. 

Clark, bewildered by the reporter's gesture and trying to make a good first impression with her new team, was nice but clearly not amused, saying 'you like that?' upon seeing the gesture.

'I like that you're here. I like that you're here,' the reporter responded.

'I do that at my family after every game,' Clark shared. 

'OK. Well listen, start doing it to me and we'll get along just fine,' Doyel said before moving on to ask his question to Clark. 

The athlete seemingly did not know what to make of Doyel's final comment and, with a shocked look on her face, continued on with the press conference. 

Later on Wednesday, Doyel apologized for his actions after clips of their exchange went viral.  

'Today in my uniquely oafish way, while welcoming @CaitlinClark22 to Indy, I formed my hands into her signature,' he wrote on X. 

'My comment afterward was clumsy and awkward. I sincerely apologize. Please know my heart (literally and figuratively) was well-intentioned. I will do better.'

Portnoy was not alone in his fury over Doyel's remarks, with several other prominent voices in the industry publicly taking issue with the reporter's comments.

Katie Mox of CBS Sports, said: 'What happened to Caitlin Clark today at her first press conference in Indy was really gross.' 

CBC Sports senior contributor Shireen Ahmed even suggested Doyel should be stripped of his credentials.

'Almost every one of my women colleagues & students in sport media and sports journalism are sharing that clip of Gregg Doyel and Caitlin Clark with disgust,' Ahmed wrote on X.

'We are rightly furious and fed up. His creds should be revoked and offered to an unentitled journalist who respects women.'

Doyel, a father-of-two, is a columnist for the Indy Star. He launched a career in journalism after studying at the University of Florida, before going on to work for The Tampa Tribune, Miami Herald, Charlotte Observer and CBS Sports.

In his author biography, he highlights his experience as an amateur boxer and brags about being an all-state in baseball and soccer during his high school years.

He notes that teachers, veterans, Hospice care, the Phoenix Society and raising ALS awareness are among the issues important to him.

Doyel's remark comes amid a row over pay disparity between men and women basketball players, fueled partly by her rookie WNBA contract.

After being selected first overall by the Fever in Monday's draft, Clark will sign a four-year, $338,056 deal with the team, with the option of a fourth year.

The internet lit up after it was revealed the 22-year-old basketball sensation would earn just $76,535 in her first WNBA season as part of her rookie contract.

By comparison, the No. 1 men's draft pick, Victor Wembanyama, earned $12,160,680 in his first season with the San Antonio Spurs.

Clark's salary goes up to $78,066 in year two and $85,873 in year three. If she takes the fourth year, she would earn $97,582. 

But despite Clark's performance on the basketball court during this year's NCAA tournament having riveted the nation, she will be earning less money in her first year WNBA contract than some NBA mascots make.

Super Bowl winner Justin Reid slammed her starting salary as 'robbery' and President Joe Biden demanded that WNBA players be 'paid their fair share'. 

Biden, in a post on X, wrote: 'Women in sports continue to push new boundaries and inspire us all. But right now we're seeing that even if you're the best, women are not paid their fair share.

'It’s time that we give our daughters the same opportunities as our sons and ensure women are paid what they deserve.' 

Reid, who's won the last two Super Bowls with the Chiefs, railed against the salary that Clark will be receiving.

'This is unbelievable,' he said on X. 'CC has made Iowa and everyone else around her millions & surely do the same in the WNBA and will see none of it… Robbery.'

However conservative sports commentator Jason Whitlock, argued Clark and Angel Reese are overpaid with their new $70K-plus WNBA contracts and critics are trying to give them a sense of entitlement, like retired soccer star Megan Rapinoe.

'What they're trying to create in these women is a sense of entitlement. "Oh, you're owed something, you're mistreated. You know what, you should be just like Megan Rapinoe!"' Whitlock stated. 

'"You should be just like all the angry feminists that have dominated the WNBA and led it to 30-plus years of no profits and total irrelevance. You need too mimic their behavior,"' Whitlock continued.

Whitlock also believes the WNBA was given a gift in Reese's likability by her entering the league, which he hopes they do not squander. 

Whitlock did not mention the likability of Clark. 

'We haven't been unfair to women,' Whitlock declared. 'You don't have to believe every lie told over Twitter or told on some college campus.'

The average WNBA base salary last season was $113,295, with the league's highest-earners approaching $250,000 per season.  

Fortunately for Clark, she will have plenty of opportunities to participate in commercial opportunities off the court with sponsorship deals to supplement her measly WNBA income.  

Her NIL (name, image and likeness) value was recently reported to be $3.4million.

The basketball superstar already has deals with State Farm Insurance, Nike, Gatorade, Buick, Hy-Vee and more.

Clark has become a household name in recent months. 

ESPN announced 2.45 million people tuned in to watch the Fever take her on Monday as the No. overall pick in the WNBA draft, crushing the previous viewership record of just over 601,000. 

Interest in Clark has given the Fever to completely change the trajectory of their franchise, similarly to how LeBron James elevated the Cleveland Cavaliers during his two stints with the team. 

And while the Fever wanted Clark's message of helping the team get back to the postseason as the lasting message, her exchange with Doyel might unfortunately prevail. 

Clark, during Wednesday's presser, outlined her goal of helping the Fever end a seven-year playoff drought, talked about being 'terrified' of her Saturday Night Live appearance, even teased Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton about attending her rival university, Iowa State.

'I was just ready for a new challenge in my life,' she said during her introductory news conference, explaining why she opted to leave school after making two straight national championship game runs.

'I was hoping Indiana got the first pick, it made my life a lot better. So I was pretty excited.' 

Clark received a standing ovation from her new teammates and the overflow crowd of team employees at the 30-minute question-and-answer session.

But she ditched the carefully crafted answers about her professional ambitions and instead showed a humility that could help the potentially game-changing star's transition from the college level to the pro game.

'It's not all about me,' Clark said. 'It's not everything I have to do and when I've been able to understand that, it's allowed me to play my best. I think it's just using your resources, asking questions, knowing everything's not going to be perfect and giving myself a little grace. 

'I'm definitely a perfectionist, but I'm at my best when I allow myself to have a little grace and not expect everything to go exactly how it should.'

Indiana certainly has big expectations for Clark, the greatest scorer in Division I history, after nearly 17,000 tickets were distributed for Monday night's draft watch party at the Fever's home court, Gainbridge Fieldhouse. 

Her logo 3-pointers and uncanny passes also helped draw a record 18.9 million viewers for last week's title game against South Carolina.

League officials already have announced 36 of Indiana's 40 games will be shown on national television, Fever ticket sales have spiked and two-time defending league champ Las Vegas has moved its game against Indiana to a venue with roughly 6,000 more seats.