Elle Duncan didn’t appreciate catching a stray from her ESPN colleague earlier this week.
During a podcast appearance on “Net Positive with John Crist,” “College Gameday” panelist Kirk Herbstreit sounded off on sports broadcasters who can’t hide their fandom, mentioning Duncan, who is a die-hard Georgia Bulldogs fan, as an example of what not to do behind the mic.
“If you are a personality, like a Bill Simmons, or a Pat McAfee or a Stephen A. Smith… part of their schtick is kind of that… That’s why Ohio State fans probably don’t care for me, I treat Ohio State like any other team,” Herbstreit said during the interview.
“It might be different if you’re in the studio, but if you’re calling games and let’s say you’re an Alabama fan — and I’m calling an Ohio State-Alabama game — how the hell can you take what I say seriously if I’m saying, ‘We, almost caught…’ I would never do that. I don’t think you can cheer when you do games on a national level… You watch ‘SportsCenter’ and Elle Duncan is sitting there cheering for Georgia, openly cheering. I’m not a fan of that personally. I think it hurts your credibility…”
Duncan, who has been a “SportsCenter” anchor since 2016, was seemingly caught off guard by Herbstreit’s comments.
“Didn’t have this on my bingo card for today but my fandom doesn’t impact in any way what or how we talk about teams on air. Ever. I…JUST..BARK?? Also whispers I’m not the only one. So why I get singled out?” Duncan wrote on X on Friday.
Despite his views on objectivity in sports media, Herbstreit admitted that he got emotional after his alma mater, Ohio State, won the football national championship in January.
“Don’t start with me,” Herbstreit said when Scott Van Pelt asked him a question on “SportsCenter” after the Buckeyes’ win over Notre Dame. “I’m a little emotional. I’m just fired up for these guys. When I call these games, I’m incredibly objective. I love all of these Ohio State teams, but this team, because of what they went through to get to this point, you’re just happy.”
Herbstreit has also recently been defensive over Ohio State head coach Ryan Day and the football program, which has previously struggled to get over the hump on the big stage.