On Thursday night, after former New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones read an emotionally charged statement essentially saying goodbye to the franchise, ESPN anchor Elle Duncan decided to chime in.
Duncan changed the entire format of her segment in order to mock and belittle Jones, which she appeared to take great joy in.
“We normally reserve ‘Taking the Elle’ for Fridays but Giants quarterback Daniel Jones just did something so inexplicable that we made an exception,” Duncan said. “After being benched this week, Jones took to the podium to say goodbye to the franchise and fans but with, like, seven games left in the season.
“I’m sorry, you have to write this down? Didn’t you go to Duke?”
Duncan clearly missed the tone of the press conference, which was evident by Jones’ Friday release. Yet, she persisted.
“Do you guys think he had this saved in his notes since, like, 2020?” she continued. “In all seriousness, DJ, I could have saved you like 90 seconds. A re-write: ‘Sorry you paid me $180 million for one playoff win. And I look forward to reviving my career as Brock Purdy’s backup.’ The end.”
It was an undeniably classless and unfunny take by Dunne, which drew the ire of Giants senior vice president of communications Pat Hanlon.
That an #ESPN personality would mock Daniel Jones’ statement today is mind boggling. Given what has happened at that company over past few years, tone deaf.
— pat hanlon (@giantspathanlon) November 22, 2024
After being called out, Duncan double-down on her flat-falling commentary, firing back at the Giants and Hanlon.
“You want to call me disrespectful to Daniel Jones? Am I more disrespectful than the Giants making him a scout team safety? Am I more disrespectful than all of those same fans that are in my mentions right now who booed him mercilessly for the last six seasons?” Dunne said on Friday. “I stand by everything that I said.”
Dunne played the victim after her unprovoked and immature attack, which was quickly defended by Stephen A. Smith.
“The New York Giants, respectfully, shut the hell up. Y’all are awful as an organization,” Smith said. “Y’all are sorry! Y’all are pathetic! The only reason why you get away with it is because the Jets have been worse. . . And you’ve got the nerve to sit up there and call the network because you want to whine and moan about your ineptitude being put on public display?”
Smith continued to rant incoherently while Dunne, exiled quarterback Cam Newton, and former Giants defensive back Ryan Clark laughed.
Perhaps it was lost on both Dunne and Smith that they weren’t bashing the Giants, they were taking personal public aim at Jones, who may not have been the best quarterback the Giants have seen but was a hard worker and beloved by the community he helped.
As Pat Hanlon said, Dunne, Smith, and ESPN are tone-deaf. And they clearly remain tone-deaf acting like victims after an unnecessary personal attack on a player, not the organization. It was immature and their defense remains immature. Full stop.
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