Elle Duncan Broadcasts Final ‘SportsCenter’ Before Bolting For Netflix
It’s the end of an era in Bristol. On Tuesday night, Elle Duncan, the woman who effortlessly blended sharp sports analysis with the kind of energy you usually only find at a tailgate, officially signed off from “SportsCenter.” After a decade of gracing our screens, she’s packing up and heading over to Netflix to become the face of their sports coverage.
But before she left the building, Duncan made sure her exit wasn’t just about the highlights—it was about the heart.
The 6 p.m. ET show kicked off with a trip down memory lane, flashing back to her first hosting gig in 2016. She started as a fresh face out of Boston and became a certified media powerhouse.
Things got emotional when Chiney Ogwumike and Andraya Carter, her partners in crime on ESPN’s women’s basketball coverage, popped up to wish her well. Carter really nailed the sentiment, praising Duncan for diving headfirst into the sport. “You studied. You asked questions. You listened,” Carter said. Then she dropped the hammer: “You brought terrible dad jokes.”
The Soul Of the Machine
When it came time for the final sign-off, Duncan didn’t just offer a polite wave. She delivered a monologue that felt less like a teleprompter read and more like a halftime speech in the locker room. She addressed the elephant in the room—the constant noise and criticism surrounding the “Worldwide Leader.”
“I see the headlines about ESPN. Some are earned. Some, I believe, are not,” Duncan said, looking straight into the camera. She acknowledged the scrutiny that comes with sitting in the big chair but quickly shifted the spotlight away from the talent and onto the people behind the scenes.
“The faces of this place are not the soul of this place,” she said. “The soul is the thousands of people who work here… People from every background, with every kind of belief, and from every ZIP code.”
It was a classy move. In an industry where egos often run larger than lineman salaries, Duncan used her final moments to shout out the producers, the researchers, and the technicians who make the magic happen. She dismissed the conspiracy theories about “hidden agendas,” reminding viewers that the folks at ESPN are just people trying to put food on the table and send their kids to college.
One Final Promise (and a Curse Word)
Of course, it wouldn’t be a true Elle Duncan exit without a little spice. Getting emotional about the “hallway smiles” and late nights is one thing, but she had to leave us with a laugh. She promised that if her Georgia Bulldogs and Denver Broncos both win championships this winter, she’s “breaking into this b*tch” to celebrate.
