ESPN ‘SportsCenter’ anchor Elle Duncan has backtracked her comments that called out four-time WNBA champion Sheryl Swoopes over her hate for Caitlin Clark.
On Thursday, Duncan said during her eponymous ‘Elle Duncan Show’ that Swoopes seemed to be ‘spreading hate’ about Clark, while reacting to the three-time Olympic gold medalist’s recent remarks about the Fever rookie on her ‘Queens of the Court’ podcast.
Duncan then posted a public apology to Swoopes on social media a day later, as she explained that she did not entirely listen to the six-time All-Star’s comments before discussing them publicly on her show later.
‘I did the thing you aren’t supposed to do. I reacted to Sherly Swoopes comments about Caitlin Clark based on quotes pulled for me by producers in the rundown,’ Duncan wrote Friday on X. ‘I should have LISTENED to the show [Swoopes’ podcast].
‘The same thing I IMPLORED CC fans to do when they were attacking me a couple of months back 4 ”hating” on her. I HATE that I’ve sent more vitriol her direction and I’m talking this BIG L!
Elle Duncan has backpedaled her comments suggesting Sheryl Swoopes ‘hates’ Caitlin Clark
The ESPN anchor also revealed that is ‘taking this BIG L’ after sending more vitriol toward Clark
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‘I’ve texted Sherly the same thing. I will do better! I am sorry.’
When an X user thanked Duncan for ‘confirming that it was indeed the producers pushing these narratives,’ Ducan rebutted the claim, suggesting that she should have done her own due diligence on the topic at hand before the start of her show.
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‘Nope not producers fault either. They are putting an entire show together and it is the responsibility of the TALENT to do their research,’ she said.
‘This is on me for rushing.. for not taking my time and just REACTING. This is MY L.’
‘This isn’t their fault,’ Duncan shared in a separate X post. ‘The podcast rundown is basically a collection of notes — the research should have been on ME. It’s my voice. I need to be responsible for what’s coming out of it.’
During Thursday’s episode of her show, Duncan tackled Swoops for her comments made on the tight WNBA Rookie of the Year race between Clark and Angel Reese, of the Chicago Sky, and the impact both players have on their respective teams’ playoff chances.
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The Swoopes quote that Duncan read on her show was: ‘I don’t know if Chicago is in the playoffs right now without Angel [Reese], right… Is Indiana in the playoffs right now, without Caitlin? … When you look at the overall team, like the pieces that they have, without question, Indiana has better players than Chicago from top to bottom. No doubt about it.’
Swoopes previously suggested that Clark has far better teammates than Reese on her team
The four-time WNBA champ’ also sided with Reese for her choice of WNBA Rookie of the Year
It was a fragment of a larger conversation that Swoopes and her co-host, Jordan Ligons Robinson, were having on their reasoning behind their choice for ROTY.
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Swopes chose Reese while Robinson went with Clark, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 WNBA Draft.
Swoopes has long rooted for Reese before the Sky selected her with the No. 7 overall pick in this year’s draft class.
‘I love her, but she’s wrong here,’ Duncan said of Swoopes. ‘… She had some thoughts. She’s had some thoughts previously about Caitlin. She would later have to apologize [for] those thoughts being uninformed … just being a little bit inflammatory and critical without any actual analysis.
‘She apologized for that during the women’s college season and she’s now stepped in it again by saying that ”Indiana is in the playoffs right now without Caitlin Clark” by saying that, like, [Fever forward] Katie Lou Samuelson’s really more integral in terms of two-way ability than Caitlin.
On top of her accomplishments in the WNBA, Swoopes is a three-time Olympic gold medalist
‘… I’m not really sure what is not connecting with Sheryl and why … This just doesn’t feel right at all and it is starting to feel a little bit like hate from Sheryl, who just in this particular space, stop.
‘If the Fever, who won a handful of games last year, are in the playoffs this year, then you have to understand that a large part of that is Caitlin Clark and [Fever forward] Aliyah Boston.’
Swoopes, however, never previously suggested that Samuel is more valuable to her teammates than Clark.
Swoopes has also praised Clark on several occasions before.
‘Caitlin, her passing, her assists – insane! Her ability to see the floor and get the ball where it needs to be – chef’s kiss – beautiful!’ Swoopes once said.
