Elle Duncan says WNBA culture wars are ‘open season’ on Black women; critics fire back

Netflix and USA Network host Elle Duncan is drawing criticism from fans and fellow media figures after saying coverage of the WNBA has become “toxic as hell.”

Duncan told Front Office Sports’ Baker Machado at the outlet’s Tuned In summit Tuesday that the league has become a hotbed for culture wars. 

“To have [the WNBA] deduced to a culture war is disgusting,” she said. “And it sucks. It sucks because it’s not getting any better. It sucks because we thought three years ago, when this started, it will die down. They will see themselves out; like, everything will regulate, and we are still here. And that’s why it’s toxic.”

Duncan did not mention Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark by name, although critics interpreted her remarks as referring to the attention surrounding the basketball star and her supporters.

“It feels like open season to dunk on Black women because we do not have protection,” Duncan continued. “Because no one cares. Because we are low-hanging fruit. Because it is very easy to dunk on us since we are, I would say, outside of transgender people, the most marginalized of the marginalized groups.”

Duncan, who left ESPN for Netflix and USA Network in December, also said she is often called a “DEI hire” and expects to be told her success means she has nothing to complain about. She urged the league to “get these bad-faith characters out of here” and said its next commissioner must address the divisiveness. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert is set to retire at the end of the year.

Former ESPN colleague Linda Cohn responded this week on her show, asking why Duncan did not discuss what Clark and her fans have done for the league. Cohn credited them with higher TV audiences, sold-out arenas, merchandise sales, the charter jet for all players and the new collective bargaining agreement. “You’re better than that,” she said.

Other critics were harsher. Rosalina Lee, a women’s basketball content creator who has written for Indiana Fever on SI, said Duncan “was part of the problem.” Another social media user suggested Duncan has benefited from the attention Clark brought to the league. Miss Duncan made similar remarks on a WHYY podcast in August, calling the WNBA the most toxic space to cover.