SI

Giants PR Executive Rips ESPN’s Elle Duncan for Mocking Daniel Jones

New York’s Pat Hanlon was not pleased that Duncan made fun of the quarterback’s statement.

Jimmy Traina

Elle Duncan upset a Giants executive after making fun of Daniel Jones.
Elle Duncan upset a Giants executive after making fun of Daniel Jones. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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1. On Thursday, quarterback Daniel Jones spoke publicly for the first time since being benched by the Giants, and essentially having his career in New York come to an end as the Giants released Jones, per his request, on Friday.

By all accounts, the reaction to Jones’s statement was positive. He put the Giants’ losing ways on his shoulders and seemed to be genuine and honest in his assessment of his play.

“There have been some great times, but of course we all wish there had been more of those,” Jones said. “I take full responsibility for my part in not bringing more wins. Nobody wanted to win more games worse than me and I gave everything I had on the field and in my preparation. Of course, this season has been disappointing for all and of course I wish I could have done more. I’m 100% accountable for my part. I did not play well enough consistently enough to help the team get results.”

Jones added, “I love the game, I love being part of the team. I’m excited for the next opportunity. I know there is a lot of good football in front of me and I’m excited about that.”

Seems like a pretty blunt and heartfelt statement with not much to pick apart.

However, SportsCenter’s Elle Duncan did not see it that way. She made it a point to tell everyone watching the show that she was moving up her “Take an Elle” segment just to bash Jones.

What followed was nearly a minute of Duncan mocking Jones with a series of unfunny shots.

She called Jones giving a statement “inexplicable.” She expressed surprise that Jones had to write down his statement because “he went to Duke.” Then she dropped this zinger: “Do you guys think he had this saved in his Notes since 2020?” And then there was some line about being Brock Purdy’s backup.

Just really hacky stuff. However, this would’ve come and gone if it weren’t for the Giants’ senior vice president of communications, Pat Hanlon, who took to Twitter to blast the segment without mentioning Duncan by name.

The biggest problem with Duncan’s segment is that it was cringe. The second-biggest problem is that it was a classic “kick ’em while they’re down” scenario. If you want to mock Jones for being an awful quarterback, that’s fair game. If you want to rip Jones for terrible play after a game, that’s all good.

But Duncan mocked Jones’s statement about being benched and basically kicked out of the Giants’ organization. He wasn’t even New York’s backup quarterback. The team had made him a fourth-stringer behind such notables as Tommy DeVito, Drew Lock and Tim Boyle before releasing him.

Plus, the public had not heard from Jones since the demotion, so he HAD to address the situation. I’m not sure how Duncan thought this would be the jumping-off point to dump all over Jones.

Clearly Hanlon did not, either.

2. This week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast features an interview with ESPN president, Burke Magnus.

Magnus shares all the details behind the bombshell news that Warner Bros. Discovery will continue to produce Inside the NBA, but it will air on ESPN beginning next season.

Magnus explains how the deal came about, why ESPN has zero intentions of changing anything about the show, when the show will air and why ESPN’s current NBA studio show, NBA Countdown, will continue next season.

Magnus also talks about ESPN’s plan for its lead NBA booth, why it’s not a lock that a third person will join Mike Breen and Doris Burke and what the network’s plan is for Hubie Brown, who will call his last game this season at 91 years old.

Other topics covered with Magnus include ESPN’s partnership with Pat McAfee, where contract negotiations stand with Stephen A. Smith, what role ESPN plays in getting an NFL game flexed, the SEC’s ratings dominance, Lee Corso’s future and much more.

Following Magnus, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, we discuss Netflix’s streaming issues for the Mike Tyson–Jake Paul fight and what it means for the NFL, Bluesky adding users who are not happy with Twitter and more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.

3. Props to Andrew Whitworth, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Richard Sherman and Charissa Thompson for joining Browns quarterback Jameis Winston to play in the snow after the Browns beat the Steelers on Thursday night.

Before Winston jumped into the snow, he was talking about ordering a “dub” on Amazon. Great mic’d up stuff here.

4. Blake Griffin has always been one of the funniest athletes in sports. He’s still that even though he’s retired. His interaction this week with Charles Barkley, as they get ready for a TV golf event, has been gold.

5. LeBron James turns 40 next month. He did this last night.

And this.

6. For my wrestling fans out there, if you see reports that the WWE Network is done, don’t believe them. The WWE Network is shifting to Netflix in international markets. The WWE Network remains on Peacock in the U.S. However, the WWE Network deal with Peacock is set to last until early 2026. Obviously, if the international WWE Network deal—plus the relationship with Monday Night Raw, which moves to Netflix in January—goes well, it would seem like Netflix could be the future home of the WWE Network. But not yet, despite what you see on the internet today.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Happy 74th birthday to Steven Van Zandt.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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