Elle Duncan Says Caitlin Clark Has Been Unfairly Made 'Avatar' in WNBA Culture Wars

Elle Duncan's recent Caitlin Clark comments add nuance to the discussion about the WNBA's culture wars.

Elle Duncan attends the Broadcasting Cable Hall Of Fame Awards 33rd Anniversary Gala at The Ziegfeld Ballroom. | IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire

Former ESPN-turned-Netflix analyst Elle Duncan's comments when asked whether she believed Indiana Fever star guard Caitlin Clark is treated fairly are making waves on Monday.

"I think that Caitlin Clark has been put in a completely unfair position. So unnecessary to ask — at the time, when she came into the league, a 21 [or] 22-year-old woman from Iowa — to understand why this was happening to her, and why this is happening to all the other women in the league," Duncan said, per Front Office Sports.

"It is so complicated, it is so nuanced; it is long before Caitlin Clark ever stepped foot on a WNBA court, that some of these ideas and narratives have been out there. But they used her as an avatar, and I think it's not fair," Duncan continued.

"I also think that to whom much is given, much is expected. And I think Caitlin understands that as well. And so, she has had to have been put in the unfortunate circumstance that she has got to speak out, that she has to continue to say, 'I don't believe these things, I was not raised this way, you do not speak for me, you do not represent me,'" she added.

Elle Duncan thinks Caitlin Clark has been put in a “completely unfair situation” as the face of the WNBA. pic.twitter.com/4wf7Zm0jTO

— Front Office Sports Tonight (@FOSTonight) October 19, 2026

Elle Duncan's Caitlin Clark Defense Complicates Backlash to 'Toxic' WNBA Comments

It's interesting to hear these comments from Duncan, given that they made waves just a few days after Duncan sparked backlash for referencing Clark when saying that the WNBA community has become "toxic".

Granted, Duncan never said that Clark directly contributed to this toxicity, and her comments from back then actually echo what she is saying now. And this makes sense, given that they were made at the same panel and just went viral at different times.

Duncan's initial comments seemingly got misconstrued, and this most recent one is more in line with how she has spoken about Clark in the past. Many fans seem to be resonating with these recent comments, even though this sentiment about the Fever guard has existed the entire time she has been in the WNBA.

Duncan is far from the first person to articulate them, but it still served as a good reminder about the plight that Clark has become part of despite never signing up for it.

What everybody can agree on is that Clark has handled being made an "avatar" with a lot of grace, and will surely continue to do so, despite whatever noise will inevitably arrive around her.