Latest news with #ChineyOgwumike
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
ESPN's Elle Duncan Refuses To Apologize For 'Crude' Joke
ESPN's Elle Duncan Refuses To Apologize For 'Crude' Joke originally appeared on The Spun. ESPN anchor Elle Duncan went viral during this year's WNBA All-Star Game. That's because she unleashed a wild joke on national television. Duncan has been with ESPN since May of 2016. While she's best known for her work on "SportsCenter," there's no doubt fans also recognize her for her women's basketball coverage. If she's not covering the WNBA, she's helping ESPN put together the best possible package for the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. Last weekend, sports fans who weren't so familiar with Duncan learned that she doesn't have a filter. During ABC's halftime coverage of the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game, she made a fairly inappropriate joke while standing next to Andraya Carter and Chiney Ogwumike. "We hope it gets a little bit more competitive," Duncan said. "Because like a girls trip to Cancun, right now, there's no D." Countless people criticized Duncan for this joke. Some were so annoyed that they called for her job. "Elle Duncan is one of the most unlikable individuals I've ever seen in sports media," one fan said. "All I need to hear is Elle Duncan and gone," a second fan wrote on X. "Unfortunately this was unnecessary and forced," another fan declared. During an appearance on "The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz" this week, Duncan commented on all the outrage over her Cancun joke. Duncan made it clear that she's not goin to apologize. "My thing with the Cancun joke is, I feel like whenever I say something, it's like sometimes a reintroduction for some people who clearly don't know me or my work over the last 10 years," Duncan explained. "I'm like, 'Bro, I said on air one time that if you celebrate too early, it's called premature I'm-Jacked-Elation.' Like I can't actually imagine this is worse than that. Like I feel like I constantly have to remind people, I have been saying things like this for the 10 years I have been at ESPN. So I thought it was silly. I thought it was funny. Some people disagree. Some people definitely agree. But it is what it is. Like, yes, girls say crude jokes too." It's safe to say Duncan is going to continue being herself regardless if fans like it or Elle Duncan Refuses To Apologize For 'Crude' Joke first appeared on The Spun on Jul 26, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Jul 26, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
WNBA All-Star Broadcast Controversy: ESPN Host Shocks With Risqué Remark
During the halftime broadcast of the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game, ESPN host Elle Duncan made a controversial remark that raised the eyebrows of fans and colleagues alike. Duncan was referencing the lack of defense in the high-scoring game where Team Collier led Team Clark 82-60. 'We hope it gets a little bit more competitive. Because like a girls' trip to Cancun, right now, there's no D,' she exclaimed. The comment, crude in nature but a fairly solid joke following the ESPYs, which featured a clearly non-PC Shane Gillis in action, drew mixed reactions. Some social media users criticized it as disrespectful to the WNBA, while others found it humorous. Narrator – It was funny, but didn't belong on a national broadcast watched by young, impressionable girls. Maybe save it for a post-game show airing late in the evening? Elle Duncan in a Timeout Duncan's co-analyst Chiney Ogwumike responded by jokingly putting her in 'timeout' as the broadcast cut to a commercial. 'Elle, you're in timeout. You're done,' she said. Viewers on social media were a little less forgiving. 'What does she mean by that joke?' one fan wrote, clearly understanding what she meant. 'I had to explain to my daughter that it meant absolutely nothing, she just wanted to watch her favorite WNBA players play, not an inappropriate remark.' 'How am I supposed to tell her that isn't the way you speak on national television?' 'Disgusting and vulgar,' a more succinct response reads. Another fan wondered, 'Can you imagine if a man said something similar?' RELATED: More Controversy at the WNBA All-Star Game For the record, the game didn't see much improvement in defense after the halftime break either. Team Collier defeated Team Clark 151-131, led by Napheesa Collier's 36 points. While there was controversy with the broadcast, there was also controversy before the WNBA All-Star game even started. During warm-ups, both teams came out onto the court wearing shirts that read 'Pay Us What You Owe Us,' a message meant to pressure WNBA management to increase player salaries. The league has never turned a profit—not even in Caitlin Clark's first season. Indeed, the WNBA is subsidized by the NBA just to stay afloat. They lost $40 million even as Clark brought in unprecedented ratings and ticket sales. You have a better chance of seeing defense in an All-Star game than you do of seeing the league turn a profit. Also Read:: Caitlin Clark's Brother Points Direct Finger for His Sister's Injuries Related Headlines Report: NASCAR to Race in San Diego in 2026, Location Revealed for Street Race NASCAR points leaders: Cup Series points leaders, NASCAR playoff picture after Dover NASCAR: Winners, Losers from Denny Hamlin's Echopark Automotive 400 Win at Dover NASCAR results today: EchoPark Automotive 400 winner, NASCAR Cup Series stage results today
Boston Globe
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Get ready for Tuesday's WNBA showdown at TD Garden: Block party schedule, how to watch Fever-Sun, and more
Fans can attend a block party on Canal Street outside TD Garden from 3-7 p.m. A DJ will be spinning, the Sun will have a merchandise pop-up shop, and there will be giveaways and samples from sponsors. The Sun will also celebrate out its 'Real Recognize Real Award' honorees. How to get tickets to Fever-Sun Last year, This year, tickets are still available as of Monday night. You can get in the door for about $90 with a balcony seat. Tickets in the lower bowl range from about $175 to $550 for seats closest to the court. Advertisement How to watch and listen The game will air on ESPN, with the network's 'WNBA Countdown' beginning at 7:30 p.m. featuring Elle Duncan, Chiney Ogwumike, and Andraya Carter. The ESPN broadcast team of Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo, and Holly Rowe will call the game. Brendan Glasheen and Terrika Foster-Brasby will call the game on 98.5 The Sports Hub. What to know about the matchup The Sun are a drastically different team than the one that won at the Garden in 2024. All but two players on the roster — Marina Mabrey and Mabrey, who is averaging 15.2 points in 31.5 minutes per game, has missed Connecticut's last eight games with a knee injury, and will not be available on Tuesday against the Fever. Advertisement The Sun (3-18) will rely on 36-year-old veteran Tina Charles, who joined the team as a free agent during the offseason. The eight-time All-Star is averaging 15.4 points to lead the team. Bria Hartley has seen her minutes tick up as of late; the 11-year veteran is averaging 8.7 points and leads the team with 3.1 assists per game. Rookie Saniya Rivers (8.3 points, 1.7 steals) is starting to come into her own. The former NC State standout scored a career-high 20 points in Leila Lacan was activated in early July after missing the first part of the season to compete for her native France in EuroBasket. The 10th overall pick in 2024, Lacan made her WNBA debut in a July 6 loss to Las Vegas. She's averaging 7.5 points and recorded a career-high seven rebounds in Friday's loss to the Storm in Seattle. The Fever (11-10) are coming off a 102-83 win over the Dallas Wings on Sunday, a showdown between 2024 No. 1 pick Caitlin Clark and 2025 No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers. Clark returned to action for the Fever on Wednesday after missing five regular-season games due to a groin injury. The phenom is averaging 16.7 points per game, to go with nine assists and 4.8 rebounds. Kelsey Mitchell leads the team with 19.2 points per game. She scored a season-high 32 points in last month's win over Dallas on the road. Massachusetts' own Aliyah Boston was honored on Monday at the State House Advertisement The top pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft, Boston is averaging 16.2 points and a team-best 7.9 rebounds.
Forbes
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
ESPN's Ogwumike Launches ‘Second Acts Live' Talks With Sports Stars
ESPN analyst and former WNBA All-Star Chiney Ogwumike will lead a series of live on-stage conversations with former sports stars talking about the next phases of their lives, including former WNBA star Sue Bird, ex-ESPN scoopmeister Adrian Wojnarowski, and former NFL quarterback Michael Vick. The events, called Second Acts Live, are being launched in partnership with Folk Productions and sports-business site Front Office Sports, and planned for a variety of venues around the country. The initial lineup for Second acts Live Ogwumike called the live events 'an exciting new chapter for me, where I get to learn from and celebrate others who are redefining themselves in powerful ways.' The focus in sports personalities in their next acts reflects the old adage that athletes die two deaths, the first when their sports career ends, Ogwumike acknowledged in an interview. Ogwumike is her own second act, in media, with her on-air ESPN analyst work after a decade-long WNBA career interrupted by her decision not to play during 2020's pandemic bubble year. Older sister Nneka Ogwumike remains in the league, playing for the Seattle Storm and just named an All-Star Game starter. Ogwumike promised the on-stage conversations would be wide-ranging and not, to use a sports metaphor, filled with softball questions. And she said the conversations will be interactive, meaning she intends to interact and even invite audience questions as part of the events. 'The way I would describe these (interview subjects) is they are very much what you see is what you get,' Ogwumike said. 'When you think about picking the talent, who are the people actually going through a second act right now,' said Folk Productions co-founder Tré Scott. 'The questions don't have to be gotchas. She's embarking on the literal journey as we speak. It becomes something more organic and spiritual.' Scott said the cadence of events will be about one a month, each to be located on home turf of the personality to be interviewed. Thus WNBA Hall of Famer Bird's September event will be in Seattle, where she played her entire pro career, and will talk about her efforts to grow women's sports. Wojnarowski's conversation will be in Philadelphia, where he'll talk about his decision last fall to leave behind decades of delivering endless scoops for ESPN to become general manager of the men's basketball team at his alma mater, St. Bonaventure University in western New York. Vick, a four-time All-Pro NFL quarterback before falling from grace and serving nearly two years in federal prison on dog-fighting charges, rebuilt his NFL career after his 2009 release, then became an on-air NFL analyst for Fox. Last December, he was named head football coach at HBCU Norfolk State University. His Second Acts Live event will be in December in Atlanta, where he recorded his biggest NFL success. 'First and foremost, our primary focus is we want the audience to have an amazing experience,' Scott said. 'How we bring it to the audience will be truly about live entertainment. People want to hear those untold stories. It's really about how to drive people to the live, in-person experience.' The partnership will leverage Front Office Sports' mammoth online and newsletter presence to both build awareness and audience engagement before each event, and follow up with online material culled from each live conversation, Scott said. Live events as a category have quickly recovered from the devastations of the pandemic lockdown, with music in particular a hot commodity, as evidenced by the massively lucrative recent tours of Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. And podcasts of a bewildering variety have blossomed online, featuring an immense variety of mostly recorded conversations with notables in many areas, including sports. Even old talk-show hosts such as David Letterman and Jon Stewart have in recent years recast themselves doing in-depth, one-to-one conversations, partly in front of live audiences, with a variety of notables. More specialized live events, such as Live Talks Los Angeles, have put on hundreds of events in specific markets, in Live Talks' case pairing authors of prominent new books with interesting interlocutors from many fields. Second Acts will launch focused in sports and media, where Ogwumike has her strongest roots, connections, and behind-the-scenes stories, she said. But her long-term ambition is to expand the potential conversational partners into other areas. Scott said event venues will generally range in size from 1,200 to 2,000 seats, such as the Met Philadelphia, which has upcoming shows featuring Cat Stevens, Jon Batiste and John Mulaney, the comedian who's recently presided over a series of live late-night talk shows on Netflix. Theaters of that size are big enough to create the energy and scale to connote an 'event,' while still allowing the resulting conversation to remain intimate in feel, Scott said. Holding live events may limit the initiative's initial scale, Scott acknowledged, but said 'scale can exist outside the walls of the theater, and that is the magic. That's how we end up with a platform.'
Time of India
28-05-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Chiney Ogwumike apologizes for racism claims after WNBA finds no evidence of fan misconduct
Chiney Ogwumike/ Image: X WNBA concludes investigation with no findings On May 28, 2025, the WNBA announced that it found no evidence to support claims of racist harassment allegedly directed at Chicago Sky star Angel Reese during a May 17 game against the Indiana Fever. The league stated: 'Based on information gathered to date, including from relevant fans, team and arena staff, as well as audio and video review of the game, we have not substantiated it.' The statement came after allegations emerged that Reese, who is Black, had been the target of racially charged remarks from Indiana fans following a flagrant foul by Caitlin Clark. The game had ended in a 93-58 victory for the Fever. 'The WNBA is committed to fostering a safe and inclusive environment for everyone and will continue to be vigilant in enforcing our fan code of conduct,' the league added. Chiney Ogwumike's original remarks and reaction Following the allegations, ESPN analyst and former WNBA All-Star Chiney Ogwumike weighed in during an appearance on Get Up alongside Monica McNutt. Referring to the alleged racial abuse, Ogwumike said: 'If you're truly a basketball fan, you would understand and agree that we have no space in our game for those types of comments… not putting more gasoline on the fire in a circumstance where we're here to appreciate the beautiful basketball. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Don't Pay Full Price for 2025's Top Games! Shop Now Undo That's all Caitlin and Angel want you to do. Why not just continue on that?' (as reported by Awful Announcing). Ogwumike's comments drew backlash from some Indiana Fever fans, who felt unfairly implicated. Public apology and clarification by Ogwumike In response to the WNBA's findings, Ogwumike issued a 90-second video statement on X (formerly Twitter) on May 27. She expressed regret and acknowledged her responsibility: 'Hey everybody, I'm sure you've seen the WNBA statement on the investigation and I want to address this with the same energy I did the first time… if you really know me, I always try my absolute best to uplift the WNBA… But if you know me, you know I'm not afraid to say I can do better.' She added: 'I am sorry that my message was in the heat of the moment, cause when I initially spoke on the topic, it really came from a place of care. It was based on first-hand conversations with people very close to the situation who raised real concerns… I totally recognize that it may have impacted fans in a way that I did not intend, and I'm sorry.' 'I understand that having a platform comes with a responsibility and I do not take that lightly. So as our league continues to grow, I am going to grow with it,' she said. 'I am so committed to be better in how I share perspectives and grow alongside the game I truly love and adore.' Reactions and fallout The apology did little to temper all criticism. Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who attended the game, condemned both the WNBA's handling and ESPN's coverage: 'The 'investigation' was bulls—-. Both [the Fever] and WNBA gave [credibility] to a very obvious troll,' Portnoy posted on X. 'ESPN ran with it. Caitlin Clark had to defend her fans for no reason. You made something outta nothing. Indiana Fever fans deserve better.' Meanwhile, Ogwumike emphasized she was grateful the league took the allegations seriously and hoped to move forward: 'I am also happy that the WNBA treated the matter with the utmost seriousness and followed through with the investigation.' Get IPL 2025 match schedules , squads , points table , and live scores for CSK , MI , RCB , KKR , SRH , LSG , DC , GT , PBKS , and RR . Check the latest IPL Orange Cap and Purple Cap standings.
