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See the full story · 1 sourcesCaitlin Clark becomes the center of fresh debate after Elle Duncan's remarks ignite strong fan reactions.
A few days after Caitlin Clark pushed back against what she called “emotionally exhausting” and “out of touch” coverage of her, Netflix’s lead sports talk show host Elle Duncan responded.
Duncan urged the Indiana Fever superstar to address head-on the hate that some of Clark’s alleged supporters have been using to further their own agendas. The USA Network host asked the three-time All-Star to make a definitive statement instead of passing the outside noise to the media.
Duncan’s comments promptly caused uproar in the WNBA world.
Elle Duncan’s Caitlin Clark Comments Ignite Strong Reactions Across WNBA Community
During Saturday’s interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews, Clark spoke about how she has often been falsely portrayed. She emphasized that the media “are the ones controlling the narratives about what people read and what people talk about. And a lot of that is sometimes so far out of touch with what is reality.”
On Monday’s episode of “The Sports Gossip Show,” Duncan reacted.
“I would love for it to be very clear to the people who think they are her fans but are using her, if she would say, ‘Stop that [expletive], I don’t want it, I’m tired of it.’ As opposed to what we’ve seen, which is ‘The media makes up these narratives, the media makes up this discourse,'” Duncan said .
“That’s not true. The media highlights the stories, and they show it, but at the same time, the media did not make up that members of Congress are trying to get literal government intervention into whether you get fouled too hard. Like, this stuff has to stop.”
The WNBA world promptly sounded off on Duncan’s comments.
“According to Elle Duncan, Caitlin Clark is to blame for USA Today saying she could cause an Emmett Till-like situation because she hasn’t denounced her fans yet. This is brain-dead commentary,” OutKick’s Bobby Burack tweeted .
Burack added just minutes later, “It’s funny that Elle Duncan assumes Caitlin Clark’s fans are fake and pretending to support her for cultural and racial reasons. That’s what Duncan does. So she assumes everyone else does. In reality, most fans support compelling, generationally talented athletes.”
“Elle Duncan, like Monica McNutt, is trying to shame Caitlin Clark for calling out the media, because she can’t accept they’re THE problem. The media has vilified Clark & her fans for YEARS. Duncan won’t call out the media & players that have mistreatment the golden goose,” OutKick’s Jon Root wrote .
“That’s a shame, I used to think@elleduncantv had some sense; she’s denounced hate so many times. It’s not just her fans,” a Luka Dončić supporter added .
“[Clark] did it a month ago, you just ignored her like always,” an X user claimed .
Another X user pointed out that Clark has done exactly what Duncan has asked her to do. In June 2024, Clark said, “People should not be using my name to push those agendas. It’s disappointing. It’s not acceptable.”
Early this month, the Fever franchise cornerstone also addressed the controversy.
“The harassment, the hate. None of that is OK. There should never be a question of character like I’ve always stood up here and said that, and that’s truly what I believe; that’s how I was raised,” Clark said . “So, none of that is okay, and I don’t want anyone to experience that.”
Amid her criticism, Duncan stressed to her listeners that Clark is not at fault for her “bigoted” fans’ behavior.
“I do not think it’s on Caitlin. These bad faith characters have used her name, image, and likeness to be misogynistic, or racist, a bigot,” the former SportsCenter anchor said.
The WNBA analyst acknowledged Clark made previous statements but insisted that they have not curbed widespread hate and bullying.
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Duncan claimed that there is no easy solution to the situation, but many in the WNBA world are throwing their support behind Clark. Most of them contend that there is only so much that the 24-year-old could do.
Instead, they want the media, including Duncan, to stop creating allegedly false narratives around the league’s biggest and hottest draw.
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