Longtime ESPN anchor Elle Duncan surprised some people with the off-color joke she made during the WNBA All-Star Game last weekend, and she thinks those who were offended by it need to lighten up.
Duncan, who specializes in the WNBA, was part of ESPN’s coverage of the All-Star Game in Indiana on Saturday night. There was very little defense in Team Collier’s 151-131 win over Team Clark, so Duncan decided to crack a saucy joke.
“We hope it gets a little bit more competitive. Because like a girls’ trip to Cancun, right now, there’s no D,” Duncan said.
Duncan’s co-hosts joked that Duncan should be put “in timeout” before ESPN went to a commercial break. You can see the video here.
Duncan was asked about the reaction to her comment during a Thursday appearance “The Dan Le Batard with Stugotz” show. She said anyone who has followed her career should not have been surprised and that “girls say crude jokes too.”
“My thing with the Cancun joke is, I feel like whenever I say something, it’s like sometimes a reintroduction for some people who clearly don’t know me or my work over the last 10 years,” Duncan said, as transcribed by Ben Axelrod of Awful Announcing. “I’m like, ‘Bro, I said on air one time that if you celebrate too early, it’s called ‘premature-I’m-jacked-elation.’ Like, I can’t actually imagine this is worse than that. I feel like I constantly have to remind people, I have been saying things like this for the 10 years I have been at ESPN.
“So I thought it was silly. I thought it was funny. Some people disagree. Some people definitely agree. But it is what it is. Like, yes, girls say crude jokes too.”
The other joke Duncan referenced was one she made while hosting “SportsCenter” earlier this year:
I said “ premature I’m JACKED elation”.. what’s the big deal
— Elle Duncan (@elleduncanESPN) January 28, 2025
Many felt that a male anchor would have gotten in a lot more trouble had he made the same “D” joke as Duncan, which is probably true.
Either way, Duncan views that type of humor as part of her personality, and it does not sound like she plans on changing.
Duncan, who has been with ESPN since 2016, also drew attention earlier this month for her reaction to being called out by Kirk Herbstreit.
