Elle Duncan Claims Black Women Are the Real Victims of WNBA Discourse, But the Receipts Tell a Different Story

Former ESPN anchor Elle Duncan recently sat down with Front Office Sports and called the surrounding conversation about the WNBA “toxic as hell.” She argued that Black women are the primary targets, describing them as the “most marginalized of the marginalized” outside of transgender people. She accused “opportunists” of using Caitlin Clark to elevate one person while dragging down everyone else, especially Black and queer women.

But critics are pushing back hard, pointing out that Duncan failed to offer a single concrete example to support her claims. They argue her entire premise is flawed, especially when looking at her own career. ESPN hired Duncan after she was arrested for a DUI, and she went on to use the network’s airwaves for personal political lobbying, even trying to get co-worker Sage Steele removed over comments about her “Blackness.” Despite all that, she faced no real discipline and was later hired by Netflix. If anyone has had protection and privilege, the critics argue, it is Duncan.

The claim that Black women lack protection in the WNBA also doesn’t hold up. The league is made up mostly of Black women, and they often get the benefit of the doubt. For instance, A’ja Wilson charged into the stands and avoided a suspension, while DiJonai Carrington escaped discipline after a dirty foul on Sophie Cunningham and then publicly accused the league of racism. Meanwhile, ESPN’s main WNBA show, hosted by an all-Black female panel, has frequently been criticized for holding Clark to a completely different standard than Black players.

Perhaps the most embarrassing part for Duncan is her own role in the mess. She was one of the first media figures to racialize the league when Caitlin Clark arrived, repeatedly blaming Clark for the racist comments of anonymous online trolls. She even suggested Clark bore some responsibility for a wild USA Today column that brought up Emmett Till. Duncan, along with players like A’ja Wilson, Angel Reese, and others, met Clark’s historic popularity with immediate resentment, calling it “white privilege.” Now, as the public pushes back against that divisive rhetoric, Duncan and others want to flip the script and play the victim. Critics say that’s a convenient rewrite of history, and the real toxicity started the moment they decided to treat a star player’s success as a political grievance.